Carbon Offsetting

Jim Cunningham: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what steps his Department is taking to encourage individuals to use carbon offsetting schemes.

Ian Pearson: Offsetting should be set in a hierarchy of actions. The most effective way to avoid and reduce emissions is by changing behaviour. When it is not possible to avoid or reduce emissions, consumers should consider offsetting. When carried out in this context, we support the use of offsets generated by robust and verifiable mechanisms bound by international regulation
	On 18 January, DEFRA launched a consultation on a voluntary Code of Best Practice for the provision of carbon offsetting to customers. The purpose of this code is to provide clarity to customers and, thereby, confidence in a growing market.
	The Government are leading by example in taking action on its own emissions, with all central Government ministerial and official air travel being captured under carbon offsetting schemes since April 2006. Around 30 Departments, agencies and bodies are participating in the Government Carbon Offsetting Fund.

Integrated Pollution Prevention and Control

Anne McIntosh: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs 
	(1)  what estimate he has made of the costs to farmers in England of implementing the integrated pollution prevention and control (IPPC) measures; what representations he has received on the costs; and if he will review the appropriateness of the current thresholds for the application of the IPPC measures to  (a) pig and  (b) poultry farmers;
	(2)  whether a regulatory impact assessment has been carried out on the application of the integrated pollution prevention and control regulations to  (a) pig and  (b) poultry farmers.

Ben Bradshaw: The integrated pollution prevention and control (IPPC) directive applies only to poultry installations with places for more than 40,000 birds and to installations with places for more than 2,000 production pigs or 750 sows. Since they are set in the directive, those thresholds cannot be changed unilaterally by the UK. Large units are those greater than 10 times the lower threshold, that is, those greater than 400,000 birds, 20,000 production pigs or 7,500 sows.
	Under the Environment Agency's (EA) scheme of charges, intensive livestock installations will be charged £3,331 for a permit application and then annual charges of £2,229 for a small installation and £2,794 for a large one. The EA is obliged to consult annually on the scheme of charges, before seeking the Secretary of State's approval.
	In England, the total capital costs of meeting the requirements of the IPPC directive were estimated by the Rural Development Service, in February 2006, to be £64.6 million with annual costs of £20.2 million. This includes permitting and improvements likely to be necessary over the next few years. However, there are significant uncertainties about these estimates.
	A regulatory impact assessment was carried out on the Pollution Prevention and Control (England and Wales) Regulations 2000 prior to their making. However, this did not consider in detail each individual industry sector in terms of the transposition of the IPPC directive.
	My noble Friend, the Lord Rooker recently met representatives of the industry to discuss permit charges and in particular how annual charges might be reduced through streamlined approaches to inspection. The EA and the National Farmers Union are currently considering options including what greater use might be made of assurance scheme visits.

Railway Land

David Crausby: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what plans he has to combat litter and refuse on railway land.

Ben Bradshaw: Under section 89 of the Environmental Protection Act 1990, railway undertakers and operators have a duty to keep their 'relevant land' clear of litter and refuse. This includes station areas to which the public have access, tracks that are within 100 m of platforms (provided that the public have access to the platforms) and tracks in urban areas. Where this duty is not complied with, local authorities (LAs) may issue a litter abatement notice on the railway undertaker or operator, requiring the clearance of the litter and refuse and prohibiting further defacement of the land. Any member of the public can also take action via the magistrates court, seeking a litter abatement order to get the litter cleared.
	There is no duty on rail undertakers or operators to keep other track areas clean. However, where such land becomes defaced by litter and refuse and this is detrimental to the amenity of the area, LAs can issue a litter clearing notice on the occupier or owner (if unoccupied), requiring the clearance of the litter and, if necessary, reasonable steps to be taken to prevent future defacement. This power was introduced by the Clean Neighbourhoods and Environment Act 2005 and commenced on 6 April last year.
	It is an offence to fail to comply with a litter abatement notice, a litter abatement order or a litter clearing notice.

Water Resources

Greg Knight: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what improvements are planned to be made to the infrastructure enabling rainwater falling during winter months to be stored for use during the summer; what expenditure is planned on that infrastructure; and if he will make a statement.

Ian Pearson: All water companies in England and Wales have water resource management plans which look ahead 25 years and include projections of current and future demands for water. The plans, which are regularly updated, show how water companies propose to meet demand for water, and will include any new water supply resources that are needed. These plans are due to become a statutory requirement in April 2007 under provisions in the Water Act 2003 and will then be subject to public consultation.
	Water companies in the south have identified the need for five new and three extended reservoirs in their 25-year water resource management plans.
	In their 2004 "Periodic Review of Future Water and Sewerage Charges 2005-2010", Ofwat, the economic regulator, assumes water companies' capital expenditure to be 1.7 billion to maintain the balance between supply and demand for water, and in some cases to enhance the security of water supply. This capital expenditure covers a range of measures including leakage reduction, upgrading water treatment processes, enhancements to water treatment and distribution, network improvements, groundwater resources and metering.

Blue Badges

Andrew Pelling: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport how many blue badges were used fraudulently in  (a) 2005 and  (b) 2006.

Gillian Merron: Enforcement of the disabled persons' parking badge scheme is a matter for local authorities. There is no legal requirement for local authorities to provide the Department with details of fraudulent use of badges nor does the Department currently ask for that information as part of its annual blue badge statistical survey of local authorities in England. The devolved Administrations are responsible for the scheme in other parts of the UK.
	The issues of misuse and abuse of badges were considered as part of the review of the Blue Badge Scheme. In concluding the review, some 47 recommendations were made to Ministers through the Disabled Persons' Transport Advisory Committee (DPTAC)—the Department's statutory advisers on the transport needs of disabled people—including a number of enforcement measures. The Government accepted most of these and is currently taking them forward. A summary of the recommendations and the Government's response to them was placed in the House Libraries on 18 December 2002.

Civilian Flights

Michael Moore: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport 
	(1)  whether UK aviation authorities are obliged to collect personal data on all persons travelling on civilian flights that begin or end on UK territory;
	(2)  whether UK aviation authorities are obliged to collect personal data on all persons travelling on civilian flights that stopover in UK territory for refuelling or other purposes;
	(3)  what personal details are collected by aviation authorities on persons travelling on civilian flights that begin or end on UK territory; how long this information is held; which body is responsible for holding this information; and which Government Departments have access to this information;
	(4)  whether UK aviation authorities are obliged to collect personal data on  (a) civilians,  (b) military personnel and  (c) diplomatic personnel travelling on (i) military aircraft and (ii) non-military aircraft registered to a sovereign government (1) to and (2) through the UK territory.

Gillian Merron: In the United Kingdom the aviation authority is defined as the Secretary of State for Transport and, for the purpose of managing policy on airline tariffs, the Civil Aviation Authority. The UK aviation authority is not obliged to collect any personal data on people travelling to, from or via the UK.

Historic Vessels

Anthony Steen: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what  (a) statutory provisions and  (b) custom and practice apply to the display of port letters and numbers on historic vessels which are not fishing for profit; and if he will make a statement.

Stephen Ladyman: There is no statutory provision which allow historic fishing vessels to display port letters and numbers once they have been removed from the Register. Regulation 113 of The Merchant Shipping (Registration of Ships) Regulations 1993 states that
	"If a ship's registration is terminated, whether by expiration of the registration period or otherwise, the marking prescribed under these regulations must be removed from the ship and written confirmation of that removal must be sent to the Registrar"
	Ships that were previously granted Historic Registration status by the Registrar before the 1993 regulations came into force on 21 March 1994 have been allowed to retain the de-faced port letters and numbers provided they can produce the original letter and notification granting such status. New applications are not being considered given the requirement made under regulation 113.

Local Transport

Hugh Bayley: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport how much local transport grant was given to City of York unitary council in each year since the council's creation; and what criteria are used to assess how much each local authority receives.

Gillian Merron: The City of York council was created in 1996. Total local transport capital funding for the authority each year has been as follows:
	
		
			   Total funding (£ million) 
			 1997-98 2.212 
			 1998-99 1.148 
			 19992000 2.095 
			 2000-01 2.262 
			 2001-02 5.995 
			 2002-03 6.155 
			 2003-04 7.881 
			 2004-05 6.302 
			 2005-06 6.225 
			 2006-07 6.378 
		
	
	This included capital funding for major schemes (those over £5 million), maintenance and local integrated transport.
	Total funding for 2007-08 is £6.31 million, which was announced as part of the 2006 local transport settlement in December. This is divided into an integrated transport block and funding for maintenance.
	The funding allocations for the integrated transport block for York announced in December as part of the 2006 local transport settlement are as follows:
	
		
			  City of York 
			   Allocation £ million 
			 2007-08 4.141 
			 2008-09 3.737 
			 2009-10 3.374 
			 2010-11 2.986 
		
	
	The 2007-08 allocation is the previously published planning guideline with an uplift of 12.5 per cent. because the council's local transport plan for 2006 to 2011 was assessed as excellent.
	In addition, the total capital highway maintenance funding allocation for City of York council for 2007-08 is £1.419 million, all of which is formula funding. We have also provided £0.750 million for capital works on the detrunked sections of the A1079 and A1237. This is in addition to the maintenance allocation outlined above.
	Major schemes are no longer included in the local transport settlement. We responded separately in July to the advice from the regions about their priorities for major transport projects—including those promoted by local authorities—up to 2015-16. The Yorkshire and the Humber region is getting £175million over the next two years.
	Nationally, £683 million is being provided for highways capital maintenance in 2007-08. Most (£634 million) is being distributed formulaically. The formula reflects the size and condition of local roads, bridges and street lights. £47 million is being allocated response to bids for major maintenance and strengthening on the primary route network and for smaller authorities' exceptional maintenance schemes, and £2 million is to be allocated at a future date.
	We are providing £571 million for integrated transport in 2007-08. Its distribution is influenced by three factors: a formula representing local pressures, the previous pattern of distribution and how well authorities have planned and delivered their transport objectives. Indicative allocations of £1,760 million are also being made for the three year period from 2008-09 to 2010-11 to provide increased certainty and stability for local authorities to plan ahead. These are subject to the outcome of the Comprehensive Spending Review.

Local Transport

Hugh Bayley: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport how his Department assesses the quality and performance of local authorities' local transport plans; what assessment his Department has made of City of York council's plans; and if he will make a statement.

Gillian Merron: As part of the 2006 local transport settlement, each of the 82 local transport plans in England (outside London) has been assessed against benchmarks grouped into nine criteria. These criteria cover areas such as road safety and congestion as well as how the plan fits in with wider transport policy aims and reflects local priorities. They are based on the central Government and the Local Government Association agreed set of shared priorities for transport.
	For each of the criteria, each plan is assessed as being weak, fair, good or excellent. Plan classifications are derived from the balance of the criteria classifications.
	The City of York council's second local transport plan (for 2006-11) was assessed as 'excellent'. The 'excellent' classification means that the Department found evidence of a very high standard of transport planning. The plan builds on the foundations of the first plan-(for 2001-06), which has delivered a wide range of benefits for local people.
	These include the development of very successful park and ride systems and the new 'Overground' bus network, which will evolve into a comprehensive public transport network for local users. The City of York council has already reported a growing number of people using the bus network, in addition to the increasing numbers of people making use of the improved facilities for walking and cycling.
	Together with a robust parking management policy and the introduction of the urban traffic congestion management system, these improvements have delivered a significant reduction in traffic and cars parked in the city.

Railways

James Arbuthnot: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what estimate he has made of the number of standing passengers on peak hour trains between Waterloo and  (a) Fleet,  (b)Winchfield,  (c) Hook,  (d) Liphook and  (e) Bentley stations; and what projections of these figures he has made for each of the next 20 years.

Tom Harris: holding answer 24 January 2007
	The Department does not hold this information.
	With regards to future usage, the Network Rail Route Utilisation Strategy (RUS) assumed a growth of 20 per cent. over 10 years. The Department in letting the new South Western Franchise asked bidders to develop innovative means to manage the expected increase in capacity.

Road Building and Improvements

John Redwood: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport how many miles of new motorway and trunk road to at least dual carriageway standard are planned.

Stephen Ladyman: The following table lists the trunk road and motorway schemes currently in the Targeted Programme of Improvements which provide new or additional lengths of motorway and trunk road to at least dual carriageway standard.
	These schemes will be delivered subject to the satisfactory completion of statutory processes and the availability of funding.
	
		
			  Scheme  Anticipated start of works date  Length of scheme (miles)  Additional lane miles 
			 M1 J31-J32 Widening On site 22 January 2007 1.24 2.49 
			 A595 Ration-Lillyhall Improvement January 2007 3.23 12.93 
			 A1 Bramham-Wetherby (including Wetherby Bypass) Spring 2007 6.21 14.91 
			 M1 J21-30 Widening (Phase 1) Summer 2007 14.60 29.21 
			 M25 J1b-3 Widening Summer 2007 2.67 5.59 
			 A1 Dishforth to Leeming (A1 Dishforth to Barton) Spring 2008 24.67 52.82 
			 M27 J11-J12 Climbing Lanes Spring 2008 1.99 2.30 
			 M27 J3-J4 Widening Spring 2008 2.55 5.16 
			 A421 Bedford to M1 Junction 13 Autumn 2008 8.02 32.69 
			 M1 J10-J13 Widening Winter 2008 14.17 28.40 
			 M62 J25-J27 Widening Winter 2008 7.21 14.42 
			 M25 J16-23 Widening Winter 2009 22.12 40.39 
			 A453 Widening (M1 J24 to A52 Nottingham) Winter 2009 7.15 14.29 
			 M1 J39-J42 Widening Spring 2009 6.59 11.19 
			 M62 J27-J28 Summer 2009 3.29 6.59 
			 A14 Ellington-Fen Ditton Improvement Spring 2010 22.56 121.36 
			 M1 J21-J30 Widening (Phase 2) Spring 2010 37.84 72.64 
			 A21 Tonbridge to Pembury Spring 2010 2.55 10.19 
			 M25 J27-J30 Widening Summer 2010 14.04 26.22 
			 M1 J34-J37 Widening Winter 2011 10.00 20.01 
			 A47 Blofield to North Burlingham Dualling Spring 2011 2.49 4.97 
			 A23 Handcross to Warninglid Widening Spring 2011 2.36 4.72 
			 M1 J32-J34 Widening Spring 2011 7.39 10.75 
			 A21 Kippings Cross to Lamberhurst Bypass Spring 2011 2.98 11.81 
			 M1 J30-J31 Widening Summer 2011 5.90 11.81 
			 A46 Newark-Widmerpool Improvement Spring 2012 17.09 43.50 
			 M25 J5-J7 Widening Autumn 2012 22.12 40.39 
			 M25 J23-J27 Widening Autumn 2012 17.34 30.70 
			 M1 J37-J39 Widening Autumn 2012 7.89 12.80 
			 A57/A628 Mottram in Longdendale, Hollingworth and Tintwistle Bypass Spring 2013 3.98 12.74 
			 A11 Fiveways-Thetford Improvement Spring 2013 9.20 18.77 
			 M1 J31-J32 Widening Summer 2014 3.54 11.06 
			 A505 Dunstable Northern Bypass (A5 to M1 Link) 2013-14 2.73 10.94 
			 Total number of miles of new road and Motorway  317.71 748.76

Sheppey Crossing

Derek Wyatt: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport how many times the Sheppey crossing has been closed since it was opened in July 2006.

Stephen Ladyman: The A249 Sheppey Crossing has been formally closed three times since it opened in July 2006.
	In addition on 19 December 2006 the northbound carriageway only was closed for a short period to remove a broken down lorry.
	The old Kingsferry lifting bridge next to the new bridge remains open and has been used as an alternative route when the Sheppey Crossing has been closed.

Variable Speed Indicators

Eric Pickles: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what the average time was between a request for variable speed indicators and decision by the Secretary of State in the latest period for which figures are available.

Stephen Ladyman: Local traffic authorities may introduce variable speed limit signs on their roads without consent from the Secretary of State providing those signs conform with the Traffic Signs Regulations and General Directions 2002 and the relevant speed limit orders are in place. Local traffic authorities need to seek consent to introduce signs only if they do not conform to these regulations.
	Applications for consent must provide supporting information as set out in the relevant regulations. Subject to that information being received the Department would expect to reach a decision within five working days.

Variable Speed Indicators

Eric Pickles: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport on what date his Department received the formal request by Essex county council for activation of variable speed indicators near Mountnessing primary school in Brentwood and Ongar; and on what date he approved their activation.

Stephen Ladyman: The Department initially received a formal request from Essex county council on 15 December 2005. The Department found it necessary to seek further information concerning the statuary consultation procedure before considering the application.
	It is understood that this information was sent to the Department on 3 August 2006. It was not however received. It was not until 16 January 2007 that the Department was made aware that Essex county council had submitted this information and was still waiting for a response. The Department received a further set of the documents on 17 January 2007, and duly gave its consent on 18 January 2007.

BBC

Frank Field: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport what the revenue from the BBC licence was in each of the last 10 years; and how much of the increase in revenue is accounted for by an increase in the number of licence payers.

Shaun Woodward: According to the BBC's annual reports, the BBC's licence fee revenue and number of licences in force in each of the last 10 years is as tabled as follows. The number of licences in force includes free licences issued to households in which one or more persons are over the age of 75. The BBC is reimbursed for these free licences by the Government.
	Figures on the proportion of yearly revenue attributable to an increase in the number of licences are not collected. However, PKF, in their "Review of the BBC Value for Money and Efficiency Programmes" published in April 2006, estimate that over the period of the last licence fee settlement (2000-01 to 2006-07) a total of £632 million of licence fee income was attributable to household growth (HHG).
	
		
			   Licence fee income (£ million)  Licences in force (million) 
			 2006 3,100.6 25 
			 2005 2,940.3 24.7 
			 2004 2,798.1 24.5 
			 2003 2,658.5 24.1 
			 2002 2,533.0 23.8 
			 2001 2,370.8 23.4 
			 2000 2,285.5 23.3 
			 1999 2,179.5 22.8 
			 1998 2,009.7 22.3 
			 1997 1,915.2 22

Gambling

Jim Cunningham: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport what discussions she has had with gambling and gaming companies on on-line gambling addiction.

Richard Caborn: holding answer 24 January 2007
	The Department has held a number of discussions with representatives of gambling and gaming companies during and since the passage of the Gambling Act 2005. Topics have included: ways to tackle problem gambling; implementing social responsibility measures such as age verification; our international summit on remote gambling and research into gambling addiction.

Lottery Funding

Geraldine Smith: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport how much was allocated to Morecambe and Lunesdale constituency by the Heritage Lottery Fund in each of the last five years.

David Lammy: In the last five financial years the Heritage Lottery Fund (HLF) has allocated the following funding allocations in the Morecambe and Lunesdale constituency.
	
		
			  Financial year  Allocation (£) 
			 2001-02 1,630 
			 2002-03 12,980 
			 2003-04 910,830 
			 2004-05 39,043 
			 2005-06 78,261 
			 Total 1,042,744

Ofcom

Peter Soulsby: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport about which five television programmes OFCOM received most complaints in  (a) 2005 and (b) 2006.

Shaun Woodward: The matters raised are the responsibility of the Office of Communications (Ofcom) as independent regulator. Accordingly, my officials have asked the Chief Executive of Ofcom to respond directly to the hon. Member. Copies of the Chief Executive's letter will be placed in the Libraries of both Houses.

Ofcom

Peter Soulsby: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport on what basis Ofcom is refusing to respond to individual complaints made about Celebrity Big Brother.

Shaun Woodward: The matters raised are the responsibility of the Office of Communications (Ofcom) as independent regulator. Accordingly, my officials have asked the chief executive of Ofcom to respond directly to my hon. Friend. Copies of the chief executive's letter will be placed in the Libraries of both Houses.

Overseas Visits

Hugo Swire: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport what overseas visits Ministers in her Department have made in an official capacity in the last 12 months; and what engagements were undertaken during the visits.

Tessa Jowell: I am arranging for a list of those overseas visits undertaken by DCMS Ministers in an official capacity in the last 12 months to be placed in the Libraries of the House.
	All travel is undertaken fully in accordance with the ministerial code and 'Travel by Ministers'.

E-learning Credits

Sarah Teather: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills what guidance he has issued to schools on the appropriate use of e-learning credits.

Jim Knight: The DfES provides schools with detailed guidance on the use of eLearning Credits (eLCs).
	This guidance is highlighted as part of the general funding circular to schools and displayed on the Curriculum Online website:
	http://www.curriculumonline.gov.uk/Helpdesk/Helpdesk+page.htm#tobuy

E-learning Credits

Sarah Teather: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills whether his Department has approved for purchase with e-learning credits technologies which would facilitate the collection of biometric data.

Jim Knight: holding answer 22 January 2007
	The Department does not collect this specific information but only products to support the teaching of the national curriculum in England are eligible for eLearning Credits (eLCs).
	The DfES publishes guidelines which cover the criteria against which software products will be judged to be eligible for certification and inclusion in the Curriculum Online catalogue, and therefore eligible for eLCs.
	The guidelines are at:
	http://www.curriculumonline.gov.uk/SupplierCentre/compliance.htm

E-learning Credits

Sarah Teather: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills what types of systems and software his Department has approved for purchase with e-learning credits.

Jim Knight: holding answer 22 January 2007
	The DfES publishes guidelines which cover the criteria against which software products will be judged to be eligible for certification and inclusion in the Curriculum Online catalogue, and therefore eligible for eLearning Credits. The guidelines are at:
	http://www.curriculumonline.gov.uk/SupplierCentre/compliance.htm

Specialised Diplomas

Helen Jones: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills what steps are being taken to assess the training needs of school and college staff before the introduction of specialised diplomas.

Phil Hope: As part of the Diploma Gateway process, each consortia applying to deliver the diplomas completed an assessment of their requirements in terms of development for current staff and recruitment. Successful consortia will have assessed the skills and training needs of their staff.
	In addition, the Department is putting in place a support package that will provide the workforce with the tools to assess current skills. The Centre for Excellence in Leadership and the National College for School Leadership are leading a project to support leaders and managers in developing the skills necessary to implement the diplomas, including assessing and managing training needs. Additionally the Training and Development Agency for Schools and Lifelong Learning UK are producing a professional development toolkit for teachers. This will look at the specific skills and knowledge needed to teach the diplomas and use the existing teaching standards frameworks to make recommendations about development priorities.

Business Rates

Caroline Spelman: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government what the net yield from business rates was in England in each year since 1996-97; and what it is expected to be in 2006-07.

Phil Woolas: The figures requested are tabled as follows.
	
		
			  £ million 
			   Net rate yields 
			   Local lists  Central list  CILOR( 1)  Total 
			 1996-97 10,659 1,221 487 12,366 
			 1997-98 11,617 1,207 469 13,293 
			 1998-99 11,919 1,273 440 13,632 
			 1999-2000 12,383 1,319 332 14,034 
			 2000-01 13,698 868 9 14,575 
			 2001-02 14,778 1,048 12 15,838 
			 2002-03 14,478 1,044 8 15,530 
			 2003-04 14,384 1,029 10 15,423 
			 2004-05 14,739 1,030 10 15,779 
			 2005-06(2) 15,679 1,097 11 16,786 
			 2006-07(2) 17,172 1,000 10 18,182 
			 (1) Contribution in lieu of rates for crown properties. Most crown properties transferred to local lists with effect from 2000-01. (2) Estimates.  Source:  NNDR returns; central government information on central and crown lists.

Consultants

Caroline Spelman: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government which external consultancy  (a) firms and  (b) organisations her Department has commissioned (i) to conduct research and (ii) to provide advice in relation to (A) council tax and (B) home information packs since 2002.

Phil Woolas: Since 2002 my Department or its predecessors has commissioned no external firms or organisations to conduct research or to provide advice specifically on council tax. Research for the balance of funding review did however touch on council tax within a wider consideration of the financing of local government. The research commissioned, which may all be found on my Department's website at:
	http://www.local.odpm.gov.uk/finance/balance/rsg.htm
	is as follows:
	University of Cardiff—International lessons on the balance of funding
	NOP World—Deliberative public focus groups on the balance of funding
	University of Plymouth—Relationship between the balance of funding and voter turnout in local government elections.
	The home information pack programme is bringing about major changes to the multi-billion pound home buying and selling industry to the benefit of consumers and the environment. The work has included developing and testing the home condition report and the energy performance certificate; putting in place a quality assurance framework to protect consumers and guarantee standards; developing the necessary systems and explaining the changes to the public and industry stakeholders. This has required a wide range of technical and professional expertise to implement that the Department either does not have or does not have in sufficient quantity.
	For details of the organisations and firms employed. I refer the hon. Member to the answer I gave on 8 November 2006,  Official Report, columns 1568-89W.

Council Tax

Eric Pickles: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government what guidance has been given to local authorities about whether residents may pay for their yearly council tax bill in 10 or 12 instalments.

Phil Woolas: 'The Council Tax: Practice Note 5' originally issued to local authorities by the Department of the Environment in 1992 and re-issued on 29 April 1994, makes clear that authorities may agree council tax payment arrangements with taxpayers that differ from the normal statutory minimum often monthly instalments. 'Council Tax—a guide to your bill' published by this Department makes clear that local authorities may agree, although usually only in exceptional circumstances, to payment of council tax bills over 12 rather than 10 months.

Departmental Expenditure

Nick Hurd: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government how much her Department spent in each of the Government office regions in the most recent year for which figures are available.

Angela Smith: Chapter 7 of the annual Treasury publication "Public Expenditure Statistical Analyses" details expenditure on services in the regions and countries of the United Kingdom.
	Identifiable spending in each region of England for 2004-05 (latest available data) is contained within table 7.19 of the 2006 edition of PESA. Data relating to spending which is now the responsibility of Communities and Local Government are shown under the heading of the former Office of the Deputy Prime Minister.
	The 2006 edition of PESA is available at:
	http://www.hm-treasury.gov.uk/economic_data_and_tools/finance_spending_statistics/pes_publications/pespub_pesa06.cfm

Departmental Fixed Assets

Mark Francois: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government which fixed assets her Department sold for more than £10,000 in  (a) 2004-05 and  (b) 2005-06; and what the (i) sale value, (ii) purchaser and (iii) date of sale was of each asset.

Angela Smith: Communities and Local Government's predecessor department, the Office of the Deputy Prime Minister, sold no fixed assets for more than £10,000 in  (a) 2004-05 and  (b) 2005-06.

European Year of Equal Opportunities

Keith Vaz: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government what steps the Government are taking to support the European Year of Equal Opportunities; what activities her Department has organised to celebrate the European Year of Equal Opportunities; what funding the Government are providing for events organised as part of the European Year of Equal Opportunities; and which Ministers will be attending the Equality Summit being held by the European Parliament as part of the European Year of Equal Opportunities.

Phil Woolas: The Government will organise a series of events around the country to promote the European Year of Equal Opportunities for All. In order to maximise the impact and sustainability of these events, the Government's intention is to link this work as far as possible to the launch of the new Commission for Equality and Human Rights, which is scheduled for October of this year. The overall budget and the final plans for the year will depend on the level of co-financing from the European Commission, which is expected to be around £450,000. The Government intend to contribute a similar amount. Confirmation of the level of the European Commission's contribution is expected in March. Activities in the UK to promote the year should start in April. My hon. Friend the Parliamentary Under-Secretary for Equalities (Meg Munn) intends to attend the Equality Summit being held by the German presidency of the EU in Berlin 30 to 31 January.

Executive Agencies

Nick Hurd: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government which of the Executive agencies of her Department have regional offices outside London.

Angela Smith: The three Executive agencies sponsored by Communities and Local Government are the Fire Service College, the Planning Inspectorate and the Queen Elizabeth II Conference Centre.
	The Fire Service College is located at Moreton in Marsh in Gloucestershire.
	The Planning Inspectorate's headquarters is in Bristol. It is also an executive agency of the National Assembly for Wales and has an office in Cardiff.
	The Queen Elizabeth II Conference Centre is located in Westminster.

Executive Agencies

Nick Hurd: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government which Executive agencies are the responsibility of her Department; what the function is of each agency; and what the budget was of each agency in the most recent year for which figures are available.

Angela Smith: Information on the Executive agencies sponsored by Communities and Local Government can be found in their annual reports and accounts, copies of which are in the Library and which are also online as follows:
	 Fire Service College
	http://www.fireservicecollege.ac.uk/About+Us/Reports+and+Plans/Annual+Report/
	 Planning Inspectorate
	http://www.planning-inspectorate.gov.uk/pins/reports/ann_report_05_06/contents.htm
	 Queen Elizabeth II Conference Centre
	http://www.qeiicc.co.uk/corporate_info/documentation

Government Office for London

Michael Gove: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government what the budget was of the Government Office for London in  (a) 1997 and  (b) 2006, broken down by Department.

Angela Smith: We do not hold administration budget information on Government Office for London broken down by Department for 1997-98. The overall administration budget for GOL in 1997-98 was £13,458.82k. The current budget for 2006-07 is £17,955.7k. This is broken down as follows:
	
		
			  Department  Budget (£000) 
			 CLG 7,735.07 
			 DfT 1,055.10 
			 DTI 2,280.47 
			 DfES 1,711.37 
			 DWP 701.10 
			 DEFRA 429.86 
			 DCMS 64.03 
			 Home Office 2,523.99 
			 Other (including tariffs and non cash) 1,454.76

Government Offices for the Regions

Nick Hurd: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government which Government Departments contribute to the programme expenditure of each of the Government Offices for the Regions (GOR); and how much each Government Department provided to each GOR in the most recent year for which figures are available.

Angela Smith: The following Departments contribute towards the programme expenditure of each Government Office: DEFRA, DfES, Home Office, DTI, Communities and Local Government, DWP and DfT.
	Communities and Local Government delegated programme expenditure for 2006-07 for each GO was estimated as follows:
	
		
			  Government Office  Programme expenditure (£) 
			 East 27,515,000 
			 East Midlands 58,521,000 
			 North East 91,453,000 
			 North West 311,832,000 
			 South East 38,106,000 
			 South West 105,610,000 
			 West Midlands 119,698,000 
			 Yorkshire and the Humber 238,687,000 
			 London 139,652,000 
			 Total 1,131,074,000 
		
	
	Communities and Local Government does not centrally hold programme expenditure data for the other sponsor Departments to the nine Government Offices.

High Hedge Disputes

Eric Pickles: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government what assessment her Department has made of the charges levied by individual local planning authorities for high hedge dispute applications.

Meg Munn: Communities and Local Government has made no formal evaluation of the level or impact of fees levied by local authorities under Part 8 of the Anti-social Behaviour Act 2003 to deal with complaints about high hedges. Information on these fees is not collected centrally. Our advice in 'High Hedges Complaints: Prevention and Cure' indicates that each local authority is responsible for deciding whether, and at what level, to charge for dealing with complaints about high hedges.
	We will carry out a review of this part of the 2003 Act in 2010 after it has been in operation for five years. We are aware that authorities are keeping their fees for this service under review.

Local Government

Andrew Gwynne: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government what proportion of local authorities electing councillors by thirds have expressed a wish to move to all-out elections.

Phil Woolas: Following the Electoral Commission's report "The cycle of local government elections in England" which, after consultation with stakeholders, recommended a move to all out elections for all local authorities in England, we have received inquiries about changing electoral cycles from 21 per cent. of shire district councils that currently elect by thirds. To date three of those local authorities have made a formal request to amend their cycle. The Local Government and Public Involvement in Health Bill provides that, in future, all councils, including metropolitan district councils that are currently barred from whole council elections, which elect by thirds can, by council resolution, move to whole council elections.

Local Government Finance

Caroline Spelman: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government when she expects  (a) to receive,  (b) to publish and  (c) to respond to the report of the Lyons Inquiry into local government finance.

Phil Woolas: Sir Michael Lyons' report will be published around the time of Budget 2007. His work will inform the Comprehensive Spending Review 2007. Decisions on the Government's response will be taken in light of the report.

Local Taxation

Eric Pickles: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government whether her Department is assessing the implications of the introduction of the discrete capital values system of local taxation and the conduct of the rates revaluation in Northern Ireland for policy-making in England.

Phil Woolas: No.

Neighbourhood Renewal Fund

Oliver Letwin: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government if she will break down by main budget heading the programme expenditure for the Neighbourhood Renewal Fund initiative in the  (a) North West,  (b) London,  (c) East Midlands,  (d) Eastern,  (e) Yorkshire and Humberside,  (f) West Midlands,  (g) South West and  (h) North East region in the most recent year for which figures are available.

Phil Woolas: The Neighbourhood Renewal Fund (NRF) is a special unhypothecated grant paid to the 86 most deprived areas in England. NRF can be used in any way a locality wishes—as long as its use is agreed through their Local Strategic Partnership and contributes to the achievement of neighbourhood renewal outcomes in line with a local neighbourhood renewal strategy.
	NRF programme expenditure in the current financial year (2006-07) for the eight(1) English regions listed are set out in the following table.
	(1) The ninth region (South East) has a 2006-07 NRF allocation of £3.376 million.
	
		
			  Region  £ million 
			 North West 143.005 
			 London 119.000 
			 East Midlands 30.977 
			 East of England 3.896 
			 Yorkshire and the Humber 78.987 
			 West Midlands 70.017 
			 South West 10.596 
			 North East 65.145

New Deal

Oliver Letwin: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government if she will break down by main budget heading the programme expenditure for the New Deal for Communities initiative in the  (a) Eastern,  (b) east Midlands,  (c) London,  (d) north-east,  (e) north-west and (f) south-east regions in the most recent year for which figures are available.

Phil Woolas: The 39 NDC neighbourhoods will be allocated £2 billion over 10 years (average of £52 million each). The breakdown for capital/resource expenditure for the regions specified is as follows for financial year 2005-06:
	
		
			  New Deal for Communities expenditure 2005-06 
			£000 
			  Region  Number of NDCs  Resource spend  Capital spend  Total spend 
			 Eastern 2 7,141.45 3,290.33 10,431.78 
			 East midlands 3 11,206.92 4,926.85 16,133.76 
			 London 10 38,952.60 33,238.33 72,190.92 
			 North-east 4 20,953.08 10,682.98 31,636.06 
			 North-west 6 21,517.63 13,982.37 35,500.00 
			 South-east 2 7,949.99 5,222.13 13,172.12

Non-departmental Public Bodies

Nick Hurd: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government which non-departmental public bodies are sponsored by her Department; what the function is of each body; and what the budget was for each body in the most recent year for which figures are available.

Angela Smith: Details of the remit, Government funding and gross expenditure of public bodies sponsored by Communities and Local Government can be found in the Cabinet Office publication Public Bodies 2006, copies of which are in the Library and which is also available online at:
	http://www.civilservice.gov.uk/other/agencies/publications/pdf/public-bodies/publicbodies2006.pdf
	In addition to those bodies listed in the 2006 edition under the Department for Communities and Local Government, this Department is now also responsible for the Equal Opportunities Commission and the Women's National Commission, listed under the Department for Trade and Industry; and the Commission for Racial Equality and the Community Development Foundation listed under the Home Office.
	The National Housing and Planning Advice Unit is a new Advisory NDPB and does not appear in Public Bodies 2006. It has been set up to provide independent advice and strengthen the evidence and analysis on improving housing market affordability available to the regional planning bodies throughout the planning process. Its budget for 2006-07 is £1.5 million. It is expected to be fully operational from March 2007.

Pension Contributions

David Laws: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government what the employee contribution rate is to  (a) the Local Government Pension Scheme and  (b) the Firefighters' Pension Scheme; and if she will make a statement.

Phil Woolas: The current contribution rate for employees in the Local Government Pension Scheme is 6 per cent. of pensionable pay, with certain members retaining rights to contribute 5 per cent. Draft regulations issued on 22 December 2006 for consultation with scheme interests in England and Wales propose new arrangements, to take effect 1 April 2008, which would mean members contributing 5.5 per cent. payable on the first £12,000 of pensionable pay and 7.5 per cent. payable on the excess. Final decisions on new contribution levels, linked to pay, will be taken once the responses to the consultation exercise have been considered.
	Members of the Firefighters' Pension Scheme 1992 pay a contribution of 11 per cent. of pensionable pay. This scheme has been closed. From 6 April 2006, firefighters joining the fire and rescue service are members of the New Firefighters' Pension Scheme 2006 and pay a contribution of 8.5 per cent. of pensionable pay.

Peterborough City Council

Stewart Jackson: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government how much she has allocated to Peterborough city council for the future funding of environmental wardens; and if she will make a statement.

Phil Woolas: Peterborough city council has not been allocated any future funding specifically for environmental wardens.
	However, Peterborough city council receives Safer and Stronger Communities
	funding as part of its local area agreement. It is a local decision as to how this funding is allocated.
	Peterborough receives additional funding as part of their Safer and Stronger Communities funding for the Greater Dogsthorpe area. This neighbourhood element funding is worth £13,000 for 2006-07. The area will receive £516,000, plus a top-up for this year only of £65,000 for 2007-08. A further two years of funding is dependent upon the 2007 spending review.
	I understand that the Greater Dogsthorpe Partnership, which includes residents and local councillors, is using part of this funding to employ an environmental enforcement officer. This officer will also work with volunteer resident "street leaders" from the area to help champion local streets and neighbourhoods and help tackle environmental issues.

Safer Stronger Communities Fund

Oliver Letwin: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government if she will break down by main budget heading programme expenditure by the Safer Stronger Communities Fund initiative in the Yorkshire and Humberside region in the most recent year for which figures are available.

Phil Woolas: In 2006-07 the funding allocated to the Safer and Stronger Communities Fund (SSCF) in the Yorkshire and Humberside region was £6,078,363.
	£2,177,624 of the total was allocated for the 'stronger' element, £2,930,739 for the 'safer' element and £970,000 for the Cleaner Greener Safer programme.
	Of the total allocated to the SSCF £4,514,117 is revenue funding and £1,564,246 is capital funds.
	This funding was allocated to the areas in Yorkshire and Humberside that do not currently have a local area agreement in place; other similar funds are allocated under the local area agreement arrangements in the Safer Stronger Communities block.

Social Care Funding

Nicholas Winterton: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government what assessment she has made of the priority given to the level of social care funding in the forthcoming comprehensive spending review; and if she will make a statement.

Stephen Timms: I have been asked to reply.
	The Government's funding of social care is being reviewed alongside all other aspects of Government expenditure in accordance with the process described in the statement set before the house on 19 July 2005. Paragraph 6.11 of the 2006 pre-Budget report {Cm 6984) provides more information on this specific area of work. The conclusions of the review will be published in the comprehensive spending review White Paper.

Sustainable Communities Plan

Caroline Spelman: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government how many of the  (a) recommendations and  (b) targets in the Office of the Deputy Prime Minister's 2003 Sustainable Communities Plan (i) have yet to be met and (ii) are no longer being pursued.

Yvette Cooper: The Sustainable Communities Plan set out a long-term programme of activity designed to achieve a step change in our policies for delivering sustainable communities for all by increasing housing supply, housing market renewal, providing more decent and affordable homes for all, ensuring the right infrastructure is provided, delivering on new growth areas and improving the countryside and local environment.
	We have made considerable progress and are going further still to meet the challenges outlined in the plan. For example:
	We have reduced the number of non-decent social homes by more than 1 million, and increased the proportion of vulnerable households in the private sector who have a decent home by 66 per cent. In total over £20 billion of public money has been invested in improving council housing since 1997, and over £40 billion in total will have been invested by the end of 2010.
	Across the country, we are more than doubling investment in affordable housing through the Housing Corporation to £2 billion per year by 2008. By 2010 we will have helped 120,000 households into low cost home ownership through our Homebuy scheme and over 160,000 households to access home ownership through private or public shared equity schemes.
	Combined with London, the four growth areas and the 29 new growth points have the potential to deliver an extra 300,000 homes above previously planned levels by 2016.
	Around £400 million is to be allocated by 2008 (since 2003-04) from the Communities and Local Government's Growth Area Fund (GAF) to support the objectives of sustainable development in the three newer growth areas and we are providing £40 million in 2007-08 for a first round of infrastructure projects and to support growth-related studies, masterplanning and capacity-building in the new growth points.
	Since 2003 we have allocated £850 million to accelerate the growth of the Thames Gateway. Most of these funds are committed.
	Kate Barker, in her Review of Housing Supply (published in 2004), concluded that the housing market had not responded sufficiently to meet the needs of the country's ageing and growing population and recommended a step change in housing supply. In its response, published in December 2005, Government set out an ambition to increase the supply of new homes to 200,000 per year by 2016. Alongside the Barker response, the Government announced a cross cutting review of funding for infrastructure to support housing growth, and stronger measures for environmental sustainability. In December 2006 we further enhanced our commitment to protecting and enhancing the environment and tackling climate change by introducing a number of new environmental initiatives such as the Code for Sustainable Homes and PPS on climate change that aim to deliver more sustainable development.
	This work continues and Communities and Local Government is tasked with delivering prosperous and cohesive communities, offering a safe, healthy and sustainable environment for all.

Sustainable Communities Plan

Caroline Spelman: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government how many of the  (a) recommendations and  (b) targets in the Office of the Deputy Prime Minister's (i) Five Year Plan—Homes For All and (ii) Five Year Plan—people, places and prosperity (A) have yet to be met and (B) are no longer being pursued.

Yvette Cooper: Details of the Department's achievements, including action to take forward the proposals set out in the five year plans of the former Office of the Deputy Prime Minister, are set out in the 2006 annual report (Cm 6816). Copies are available in the Library of the House.

Valuation Office Agency

Caroline Spelman: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government what meetings the Valuation Office Agency has had with representatives of the Hong Kong government's Rating Valuation Department in relation to best practice, new technology and methodologies used in the valuation of domestic properties.

Phil Woolas: holding answer 16 January 2007
	None.

Active Duty

Eric Pickles: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence how many members of the armed forces are serving abroad on active duty, including reserve forces; and what their average length of duty overseas is.

Adam Ingram: Location statistics may be compiled based on posted (stationed) location or deployed location. Posted (stationed) location is where an individual is permanently based. Deployed location is where an individual is physically located at a particular point in time and is typically used for short tours of active duty.
	Deployment figures are provided at high levels based on manual returns and include reserve forces. At 1 January 2007,13,660 personnel were deployed on operations abroad.
	The strength of UK regular forces posted outside the UK is available in Tri-Service Publication (TSP) 6—Global Location of UK Regular Forces. TSP 6 does not include reserve forces.
	TSP 6 is published quarterly; the most recent publication show the numbers of service personnel at 1 October 2006.
	Copies of TSP 6 are available in the Library of the House and at:
	www.dasa.mod.uk/natstats/tsp6/tsp6_oct06.pdf.
	The average length of duty of personnel on active duty overseas is not held centrally. However, operational tours of duty are generally between four and six months.

Armed Forces

Lady Hermon: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence pursuant to his answer of 4 December 2006,  Official Report, columns 907-8W, on the armed forces, what criminal offences were involved, and which cases were dealt with in  (a) magistrates courts and  (b) county courts.

Adam Ingram: The breakdown of information sought is not readily available in the format requested and could be provided only at disproportionate cost. However, I attach a breakdown of offences by category since 2001. As individuals may be charged with more than one offence the total numbers in each year do not correspond with those in my answer of 4 December 2006,  Official Report, columns 970-8W, which relate to individuals not offences.
	
		
			  Category  2001  2002  2003  2004  2005  2006 
			 Criminal damage 3 3 12 5 9 3 
			 Assault 19 16 34 43 32 8 
			 Theft 4 9 12 5 2 5 
			 Sexual offences 1 1 2 3 3 1 
			 Driving offences 258 302 371 359 218 96 
			 Disorderly behaviour/public order 13 7 45 34 31 14 
			 Drug offences — — — 3 — — 
			 Murder 1 — — — — —

Armed Forces

Mark Harper: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what plans he has for further armed forces recruitment drives aimed at the Muslim community.

Derek Twigg: holding answer 22 January 2007
	The armed forces strive to engage ethnic minority groups, including those in the Muslim community, to raise awareness of armed forces' careers and to improve representation of the Muslim community in the ranks. Within this effort the services undertake a wide variety of outreach initiatives specifically aimed at encouraging more young people from the Muslim community to consider a career in the armed forces. These activities are undertaken at local level by dedicated recruitment teams or by service establishments based in or near the community. Examples include:
	On 20 January, the Royal Navy's (RN) Diversity Action Team invited a group of young people from the Small Heath area of Birmingham to take part in an RN Introduction Day. The Team has been working with a sub branch of the UK Islamic Mission called the Urban Development Foundation?part of a five month ethnic minority recruiting drive focusing on the Small Heath and Handsworth area of the city.
	The Army's participation in Eid celebrations in Bradford and Nottingham and a visit to an East London Muslim community and Mosque.
	The RAF's work with the Pakistani community in Leeds.
	The armed forces have for the past three years sponsored an award at the annual Muslim News Awards and will again sponsor this year's awards.
	On 16 January 2007, the Chief of Defence staff met Dr. Abdul Bari, the Secretary General of the Muslim Council of Britain (MCB) to discuss a series of issues relating to Muslims in the armed forces. In that same week Second Sea Lord hosted members of the MCB and the editor of 'Muslim Weekly' on a visit to Plymouth.

Armed Forces

William McCrea: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence how many soldiers from Northern Ireland are serving in  (a) Afghanistan and  (b) Iraq.

Adam Ingram: Data on the residential location of armed forces personnel is not held centrally in databases of individual records and it is therefore not possible to give figures by place of residence.
	Location statistics may be compiled based on posted location or deployed location. Posted location is where an individual is permanently based. Deployed location is where an individual is physically located at a particular point in time and is typically used for short tours of duty. Deployment data are not centrally held.
	The number of regular armed forces personnel posted to Afghanistan is available in Tri Service Publication 6, "Global Location of UK Regular Forces" (TSP 6). Copies are available in the House of Commons Library and are also on:
	www.dasa.mod.uk.

Armed Forces

Ann Winterton: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence pursuant to the answer of 7 November 2006,  Official Report, column 605W, on army recruitment, what the outflow was from the Regular Army for each of the last 12 months broken down by  (a) rank of officer and  (b) other ranks.

Derek Twigg: The following tables show the outflow to civil life of trained and untrained Regular Army officers and other ranks by rank for each of the last 12 months:
	
		
			  Officers 
			  During  Major General and above  Brigadier  Colonel ( 1) Lieutenant Colonel  Major  Captain ( 2) Lieutenant  Officer Designate  Total 
			 November 2005 — — — 10 30 10 — 10 70 
			 December 2005 — — 10 10 20 30 10 — 70 
			 January 2006 — — 10 10 30 20 — 20 90 
			 February 2006 — — — 10 20 20 — — 60 
			 March 2006 — — 10 10 10 20 — 10 60 
			 April 2006 — — — 20 40 50 — 30 160 
			 May 2006 — — — 10 30 40 — — 80 
			 June 2006 — — 10 20 80 30 10 10 160 
			 July 2006 — — — 10 40 40 — 20 110 
			 August 2006 — — — 10 40 40 10 20 120 
			 September 2006 — — 10 20 40 40 20 10 130 
			 October 2006 — — — 20 40 30 10 — 100 
			 Total 10 20 50 160 410 380 70 120 1,220 
			 (1 )Includes Lieutenant Colonel and Lieutenant Colonel Special List (2) Includes Lieutenant and 2nd Lieutenant "—" represents zero or rounded to zero. 
		
	
	
		
			  Soldiers 
			  During  Warrant Officer Class 1  Warrant Officer Class 2  Staff Sergeant  Sergeant  Corporal  Lance Corporal  Private  Total 
			 November 2005 20 50 60 60 110 140 620 1,060 
			 December 2005 20 60 40 40 70 110 550 880 
			 January 2006 40 60 70 80 140 160 650 1,200 
			 February 2006 20 50 50 70 120 150 660 1,130 
			 March 2006 20 60 50 80 110 130 600 1,050 
			 April 2006 40 60 60 <>0 110 140 680 1,160 
			 May 2006 20 60 40 60 110 130 720 1,150 
			 June 2006 30 50 40 60 100 160 730 1,170 
			 July 2006 40 50 60 60 110 120 660 1,100 
			 August 2006 30 50 60 70 100 150 650 1,120 
			 September 2006 40 40 50 70 100 160 650 1,110 
			 October 2006 30 50 40 60 110 120 820 1,230 
			 Total 340 650 620 780 1,290 1,680 7,990 13,350 
			  Notes: Figures show all outflow from UK Regular Army Forces to Civil Life including recalled reservists on release and outflow to the Home Service battalions of the Royal Irish Regiment. The figures exclude outflow of Illegal Absentees i.e. those personnel removed from the reported strength of the Army having been deemed long-term illegally absent. Therefore these figures will differ slightly from those published in some official statistics i.e. Tri Service Publication 1. UK Regular Forces includes Nursing services and excludes Full Time Reserve Service personnel, Gurkhas, the Home Service battalions of the Royal Irish Regiment and mobilised reservists. It includes trained and untrained personnel. All data have been rounded to the nearest 10. Due to the rounding methods used, totals may not always equal the sum of the parts. Numbers ending in "5" have been rounded to the nearest multiple of 20 to prevent systematic bias.

Departmental Vetting

Julian Lewis: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what changes he has initiated in departmental vetting requirements  (a) between September 2001 and July 2005 and  (b) since July 2005.

Derek Twigg: holding answer 23 January 2007
	Ministry of Defence vetting requirements reflect criteria laid down by Government and set out in the Prime Minister's Statement on vetting on 15 December 1994,  Official Report, columns 764-6W. Following a Cabinet Office Review of Personnel Security that concluded in May 2004, new processes for a standard approach to Developed Vetting, across government were introduced in April 2006. A new Baseline Personnel Security Standard replacing the current Basic Check is currently being introduced.

Deployment

Nigel Waterson: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence how many  (a) Royal Navy,  (b) Royal Marine,  (c) Army,  (d) RAF and  (e) civilian personnel in his Department are stationed abroad; and in which countries.

Derek Twigg: The information is given in the following tables:
	
		
			  Global location of UK regular forces at 1 October 2006 
			  Location  Royal Navy  Royal Marines  Army  RAF( 1) 
			 Afghanistan 100 40 (2)— (2)— 
			 Australia 20 (2)— 20 10 
			 Bahrain 20 (2)— (2)— (2)— 
			 Balkans 20 (2)— (2)— (2)— 
			 Belgium 60 10 140 150 
			 Belize (2)— (2)— 80 (2)— 
			 British Indian Ocean Territory (inc. Diego Garcia) 20 20 (2)— (2)— 
			 Brunei 10 (2)— 180 10 
			 Canada 20 (2)— 230 30 
			 Cyprus 40 (2)— 1,830 1,100 
			 Czech Republic (2)— (2)— 20 (2)— 
			 Denmark (2)— (2)— (2)— 10 
			 Falkland Islands 60 (2)— 240 40 
			 France 10 (2)— 20 10 
			 Germany 20 10 21,270 370 
			 Ghana (2)— (2)— 10 (2)— 
			 Gibraltar 200 (2)— 50 90 
			 Gulf 10 (2)— (2)— (2)— 
			 Iraq 80 30 (2)— (2)— 
			 Italy 110 10 50 80 
			 Kenya (2)— (2)— 30 (2)— 
			 Kuwait (2)— (2)— 30 10 
			 Nepal (2)— (2)— 20 (2)— 
			 Netherlands 30 10 100 90 
			 Norway 20 (2)— 10 30 
			 Oman 20 (2)— 40 20 
			 Portugal 20 (2)— 10 20 
			 Saudi Arabia 10 (2)— 10 50 
			 Sierra Leone (2)— (2)— 80 (2)— 
			 Slovakia (2)— (2)— 10 (2)— 
			 South Africa (2)— (2)— 10 (2)— 
			 Spain (2)— (2)— 10 10 
			 Turkey (2)— (2)— 10 30 
			 USA 100 10 120 180 
			 Elsewhere(3) 30 (2)— 90 40 
			 Unknown(4) (2)— (2)— 20 (2)— 
			 Grand total 1,030 180 24,760 2,420 
			 (1) Due to the introduction of a new personnel administration system for RAF, location data for 1 April 2006 are provisional and subject to review. (2) Denotes zero or rounded to zero. (3) "Elsewhere" includes all locations where five or less service personnel are stationed. (4) "Unknown" Army personnel are those known to be abroad but who are recorded against the Y List (as such, the location of these personnel cannot be determined from centrally available databases). Personnel are assigned to the Y List when they are temporarily non effective for defined reasons including terminal leave, maternity and long term detention.  Notes: 1. UK Regular Forces includes nursing services and excludes full-time reserve service personnel, Gurkhas, the Home Service battalions of the Royal Irish Regiment, mobilised reservists and Naval Activated Reservists. It includes trained and untrained personnel. 2. RAF data are situated at 1 April 2006. Due to the introduction of a new personnel administration system for RAF, location data after 1 April 2006 are unavailable. 3. Location is based on the posted location of the unit/posting which an individual is recorded against. Personnel deployed on operations to an area away from their posted unit location are shown against their posted unit location. 4. Personnel in naval parties are classed as posted to the naval party and so are shown against the location of the naval party. 5. Locations shown are those where more than five service personnel are stationed. 6. Personnel who are overseas temporarily are recorded against the location of their home port/unit. 7. Due to the rounding methods used totals may not always equal the sum of the parts. When rounding to 10, numbers ending in five have been rounded to the nearest multiple of 20 to prevent systematic bias.  Source: DASA (Tri-Service) 
		
	
	
		
			  Global location of civilian personnel at 1 October 2006 
			  Location at 1 October 2006  Civilian staff in full-time equivalent (FTE) terms 
			 Afghanistan 320 
			 Australia 10 
			 Balkans 660 
			 Belgium 150 
			 Belize 170 
			 Brunei 310 
			 Canada 10 
			 Cyprus 2,820 
			 Falkland Islands 60 
			 France 30 
			 Germany 8,680 
			 Ghana 30 
			 Gibraltar 1,030 
			 Greece 10 
			 India 10 
			 Iraq 1,400 
			 Italy 50 
			 Kenya 180 
			 Malaysia 10 
			 Nepal 370 
			 Netherlands 50 
			 Portugal 10 
			 Saudi Arabia 30 
			 Sierra Leone 190 
			 Singapore 30 
			 South Atlantic 10 
			 Turkey 10 
			 USA 190 
			 Elsewhere(1) 330 
			 Grand total 17,160 
			 (1) "Elsewhere" includes all locations where five or less FTE are stationed, plus 180 staff serving afloat.  Notes: 1. Figures include locally engaged civilians and UK staff posted abroad. Postings abroad include any staff recorded centrally as employed outside the United Kingdom at 1 October 2006. 2. Locations shown are those where more than five FTE are stationed. 3. Figures are shown in full-time equivalent terms i.e. part-timers are counted proportionately based on number of hours worked. 4. Due to the rounding methods used totals may not always equal the sum of the parts. When rounding to 10, numbers ending in five have been rounded to the nearest multiple of 20 to prevent systematic bias.  Source: DASA (Civilian)

Deployment

Liam Fox: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence in what locations British troops are  (a) deployed and  (b) stationed; and how many troops are deployed or stationed at each location.

Adam Ingram: Location statistics may be compiled based on posted (stationed) location or deployed location. Posted (stationed) location is where an individual is permanently based. Deployed location is where an individual is physically located at a particular point in time and is typically used for short tours of duty.
	The following table shows the number of personnel deployed on operations by operation at 1 January 2007. The individual location could be provided only at disproportionate cost.
	
		
			  Operation  Number of personnel deployed 
			 Telic 7,020 
			 Herrick 5,700 
			 Oculus 630 
			 UN operations 290 
			 Total 13,640 
		
	
	The strength of UK regular forces posted outside the UK is available in Tri-Service Publication (TSP) 6—Global Location of UK Regular Forces. The strength of UK regular forces posted in the UK by Government office region and local authority is available in Tri-Service Publication (TSP) 10—UK Regular Forces Distribution across UK. Reliable data below local authority are not available centrally.
	TSP 6 and 10 are published quarterly; the most recent publications show the numbers of service personnel at 1 October 2006.
	Copies of TSP 6 and 10 are available in the Library of the House and at:
	www.dasa.mod.uk/natstats/tsp6/tsp6_oct06.pdf
	and
	www.dasa.mod.uk/natstats/tsp10/tsp10tab1.html
	respectively.

Helicopters

Peter Bone: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence if he will make a statement on the availability of helicopters for immediate deployment.

Adam Ingram: All UK helicopters deemed fit for purpose are available for immediate deployment. They are deemed fit for purpose if they are capable of undertaking a specific role identified in a particular theatre on a given day. Helicopters are not available for tasking if they are undergoing scheduled maintenance, modification programmes or any unforeseen rectification work that can arise on a day to day basis. A helicopter assessed as not fit for purpose may be returned to the front line at very short notice to meet operational demand.
	I also refer the hon. Member to my answer of 8 January 2007,  Official Report, column 87W, which gives details on forward fleet and average fit for purpose figures.

HMS Sheffield: Board of Inquiry

Mike Hancock: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what the evidential basis was for the conclusions of the HMS Sheffield Board of Inquiry that  (a) (Annex A-1 para 10) neither Sea Dart nor 4.5 inch Mk 8 engaged the missile or the firing aircraft. 4.5 inch alarm procedure was not used and  (b) (para 11) Weapons were neither manned nor loaded; and if he will make a statement.

Adam Ingram: The conclusions were based on information contained in Annexes H (Narrative of Attack) and J (Analysis of Attack and Response) of the BOI Report into the loss of HMS Sheffield. This information, in turn, was drawn from written and oral evidence provided to the Board by witnesses from HMS Sheffield, HMS Glasgow and HMS Coventry.
	Annexes H and J of the BOI report are due to be published on the MOD website before the end of January, as part of the release of the second tranche of documents relating to the sinking of HMS Sheffield. However, as advised in my written ministerial statement on 2 November 2006,  Official Report, column 24WS, we will be withholding from publication copies of the witness statements that were taken by the board, as we believe that the disclosure of this personal data would be unfair to the individuals concerned and would be contrary to the provisions of the Data Protection Act 1998.

Information Infrastructure Contract

David Taylor: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what criteria the Atlas Consortium is expected to meet in order to be awarded Increments  (a) 2b,  (b) 2c and  (c) 3 of the Defence information infrastructure contract.

Adam Ingram: holding answer 19 January 2007
	Detailed criteria for Increments 2(b), 2(c) and 3 have not yet been decided, but will be based on normal MOD practice:
	Ability to meet the requirement;
	Value for money;
	Reliability/robustness of provider;
	Affordability.
	Additional criteria will cover appropriate indicators of past performance and evidence of likely future performance in the requirement areas.

Japanese Internment

Austin Mitchell: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence how many claims for compensation for British civilians interned by the Japanese have been made by British Jews interned in Singapore; and how many have been paid.

Derek Twigg: I am aware from the Association of British Civilian Internees Far East Region that a number of Jewish internees as other ethnic groups who were held by the Japanese in Singapore during the second world war may fail to qualify under the Government's ex-gratia payment scheme for former far east prisoners of war and civilian internees. However, our records do not allow us to determine the number of applicants in this category and whether they were accepted or rejected under the scheme. The underlying principle of the scheme remains that awards will be made to those who were British at the time of their internment, who can demonstrate the required close link to the UK.

Nuclear Weapons

Norman Baker: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence whether the UK is dependent on the US for conducting tests on the Trident warhead.

Des Browne: holding answer 15 January 2007
	There are a number of areas where the UK and US undertake joint trials programmes under the auspices of the 1958 Mutual Defence Agreement as it is more cost effective than each nation undertaking wholly independent trials programmes. For these trials, each nation is dependent on the other for the provision of agreed facilities and trials information.

Officer Training

Nicholas Soames: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence how many officer cadets are in training at the Royal Air Force College, Cranwell; what the service personnel establishment is; what the civilian establishment is; and what the annual costs were in each of the last five years.

Derek Twigg: As at 23 January 2007 there were 320 officer cadets in training at the Officer and Aircrew Cadet Training Unit (OACTU) at the Royal Air Force College Cranwell. The service personnel establishment at OACTU is 100 and the civilian establishment is 20.
	The following table gives the annual direct costs for training at the OACTU for each of the last five financial years:
	
		
			  Financial year  Cost (£ million) 
			 2001-02 4.136 
			 2002-03 5.384 
			 2003-04 5.980 
			 2004-05 5.892 
			 2005-06 8.316 
			  Notes: 1. Financial figures have been rounded to the nearest £1,000. 2. Personnel figures have been rounded to the nearest 10.

Operation Active Endeavour

Julian Lewis: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what assessment he has made of the effectiveness of the UK contribution to Operation Active Endeavour; and if he will make a statement.

Adam Ingram: holding answer 24 January 2007
	Operation Active Endeavour is a maritime focused NATO Counter Terrorism Operation in the Mediterranean. Its importance was reaffirmed at NATO's Riga Summit in November 2006. As a committed NATO member the UK fully supports the Operation and makes a highly effective contribution. The UK provides a dedicated surface warship for between 2-4 months each year and, on an opportunity basis, other assets operating in the Region.

Veterans Day 2006

David Crausby: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what the total cost was to his Department of the 2006 Veterans day event.

Derek Twigg: The cost of Veterans day 2006 to the Department's Veterans budget was £406,000. This does not include the costs associated with the deployment of bands, display teams, catering units and other service assets which played a part in the national and local events; these costs cannot be separately identified but the involvement was not large scale.

Afghanistan

Crispin Blunt: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs pursuant to the answer of 10 January 2007, official report, column 586W, on Afghanistan, what payments have been made personally to Engineer Daud, former Governor of Helmand Province, by the UK Government; and for what purpose.

Kim Howells: The UK has made one payment to former Governor of Helmand Province, Engineer Daud, of US$10,000. These funds were used as part of a quick impact project (QIP) helping to support local government capacity building through a shura (local council) initiative in Musa Qala.
	QIPs are delivering sustainable short-term development results in Helmand, helping provide a platform for longer term development activities throughout the province. The UK has allocated US$9 million this financial year to fund QIPs in the province. Working closely with Afghan authorities, the UK has implemented over 100 projects in Helmand. These include provision of emergency humanitarian assistance to drought victims, reconstruction work on flood defences and major irrigation systems, and the construction of new classrooms for Lashkar Gah's boys' and girls' schools.

Bolivia

Geoffrey Clifton-Brown: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what reports she has received on recent tension in the Bolivian state of Cochabamba.

Geoff Hoon: We receive regular reports from our Embassy in La Paz on the recent tension in Cochabamba and we continue to monitor events closely with our EU partners. We have also up-dated our travel advice regularly to reflect the situation. On 16 January 2007, the EU presidency issued a statement noting the EU's concern over the recent violence and loss of life, and calling for all parties to resolve their differences in a spirit of tolerance and dialogue.

Cluster Munitions

Michael Moore: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what assessment she has made of progress in the clearance of cluster munitions from affected areas in Lebanon; what recent representations she has made to the Government of Israel to assist in the clearance of these munitions; and if she will make a statement.

Margaret Beckett: According to the UN Mine Action Co-ordination Centre South Lebanon (UNMACC), a total of 95,304 cluster bombs have been cleared by UNMACC teams, UN Interim Force in Lebanon teams, and the Lebanese armed forces.
	We continue to be concerned about levels of unexploded ordnance and cluster munitions in south Lebanon. We have called on Israel to make a public statement about their use of cluster munitions and have discussed the issue with the Government of Israel, the Government of Lebanon and human rights organisations. The Israeli defence forces have launched an inquiry into the use of cluster munitions during the conflict between Israel and Hizbollah between 12 July and 14 August last year, including on the chain of command between in ordering their use. This inquiry is ongoing and its findings will be made public once the investigation has concluded.
	In response to the dangers posed by unexploded cluster bombs in Lebanon, the Department of International Development has this year committed a total of £2.8 million to the Mines Advisory Group and the UN Mine Action Service for clearing unexploded ordnance. I announced £l million of this during my visit to Lebanon in December 2006.

Correspondence

Paul Burstow: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs how many letters were received by her Department from hon. Members in each of the last 12 months; how many such letters were responded to within  (a) 10 and  (b) 20 days of receipt; how many were answered after 20 days from the date of receipt; and if she will make a statement.

Margaret Beckett: The Cabinet Office, on an annual basis, publishes a report to Parliament on the performance of Departments in replying to hon. Members/Peers correspondence. The report for 2005 was published on 30 March 2006 ( Official Report, columns 75-78WS). Information relating to 2006 is currently being collated and will be published as soon as it is ready.

Departmental Expenditure

Nick Hurd: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what estimate she has made of expenditure by her Department in each of the Government Office regions in the most recent year for which figures are available.

Geoff Hoon: Chapter 7 of the annual Treasury publication 'Public Expenditure Statistical Analyses' (PESA) details expenditure on services in the regions and countries of the United Kingdom.
	Identifiable spending in each region of England by Government Department for 2004-05 (latest available data) is contained within table 7.19 of the 2006 edition of PESA.

Departmental Travel

Oliver Heald: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what her Department's expenditure on foreign travel, including accommodation, was in  (a) 1996-97 and  (b) 2005-06.

Geoff Hoon: With regard to ministerial travel, I refer the hon. Member to the answer given by my right hon. Friend the Prime Minister to the hon. Member for Blaby (Mr. Robathan) on 19 December 2006,  Official Report, column 1808W.
	The Foreign and Commonwealth Office spent approximately £28.9 million on foreign travel by officials in 1996-97. The figure for 2005-06 was approximately £63.2 million. These amounts include expenditure on transfer and leave journeys of UK-based staff posted to British missions overseas and their dependants as well as for duty visits overseas by officials.
	Because we do not retain detailed records of expenditure from as long ago as 1996-97, and .because of differences between the accounting systems in use then and now, it is not possible to give a complete explanation for the increase in expenditure. Reasons include:
	global inflation over a period of nine years and its impact on the cost of travel;
	the redesign of our overseas network so that more staff are posted in the Far East and Asia at the expense of posts in Europe, with higher travel costs; and
	the large increase in numbers of staff travelling to Iraq and Afghanistan.
	The figure for 2005-06 also includes £12.9 million for Consular crisis expenditure for which there was no equivalent in 1996-97.

EU White Paper

Bernard Jenkin: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs if the Government will issue a White Paper on the future of the EU in advance of any negotiations arising from the German presidency's declared intention to revive discussions on the EU Constitutional Treaty.

Geoff Hoon: The Government do not intend to issue such a White Paper in advance of discussions on the future of the Constitutional Treaty at the European Council in June. However, the Government will shortly publish a White Paper on the German Presidency, which includes its approach to future of Europe discussions. I also published a written ministerial statement on 5 December 2006. The Government's approach to forthcoming discussions on the future of the EU is also set out in my written ministerial statement on 5 December 2006,  Official Report, columns 10-11WS.

Indonesia

Stephen Crabb: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what recent representations she has made to the Indonesian government on Indonesian military and police operations in the Puncak Jaya region of West Papua.

Ian McCartney: Our embassy in Jakarta has sought clarification from the Indonesian authorities on the ongoing police operation supported by member of the armed forces in Puncak Jaya. The British defence attaché in Jakarta was informed that the purpose of the operation was to investigate the killing of two army officers. The embassy has also contacted members of non-governmental organisations and religious groups in Papua to seek further information.

Lord Levy

Mark Francois: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs which countries Lord Levy has visited in the last 12 months in his capacity as the Government's envoy; when each visit took place; and what the  (a) purpose and  (b) cost was of each visit.

Kim Howells: The details of all my noble Friend Lord Levy's overseas visits and meetings over the last 12 months, as my right hon. Friend the Prime Minister's Special Envoy, are on the Foreign and Commonwealth Office website (www.fco.gov.uk). Lord Levy undertakes meetings to exchange views on a range of issues, but in the main on the Middle East Peace Process. The visit to Brazil during this 12 month period was also on a range of issues, but in the main on bilateral and regional issues. Lord Levy receives no remuneration and travels at his own expense.

Nepal

Geoffrey Clifton-Brown: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs whether she expects the Nepalese Maoists to join the interim government in Nepal; what representations she has received on this issue; and what discussions she has had with  (a) the UK ambassador to the United Nations and  (b) the British embassy in Kathmandu on the interim government.

Kim Howells: The UK has played a significant role in helping to drive the peace process in Nepal and welcomes the formation of the interim Parliament following the recent adoption of the interim constitution. The introduction of 83 Maoist members to the interim Parliament is a positive step towards greater inclusion in the political process in Nepal. We expect Maoists to take their place in an interim government to be formed following sufficient arms separation. The UK has taken the lead in New York on the drafting of a presidential statement and a Security Council resolution on UN support to Nepal's peace process. The full text of the presidential statement can be found on the UN website at:
	http://www.un.org/News/Press/docs/2006/sc8883.doc.htm.
	The Prime Minister of Nepal has personally thanked our ambassador in Kathmandu for the UK's efforts to secure these. Officials from our embassy in Kathmandu will continue to work closely with the Nepalese government, particularly in key areas of human rights, rule of law and the forthcoming elections to a Constituent Assembly.

Nepal

Geoffrey Clifton-Brown: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what representations she has made on the unrest in South Eastern Nepal.

Kim Howells: The UK has not made any representations on the unrest in south eastern Nepal. However, we are deeply concerned about the recent riots and civil unrest in the Terai and urge the Government of Nepal and Maoists to take positive steps to demonstrate their commitment to inclusion as outlined in the Comprehensive Peace Agreement. The lack of inclusion felt by many marginalised groups was one of the key causes of the conflict in Nepal. The UK played a leading role in drafting UN Security Council Resolution 1740 on Nepal which was adopted unanimously on 23 January. We worked hard to ensure in particular that this Resolution recognises the need to pay special attention to the needs of women, children and traditionally marginalised groups in the peace process. Failure now to acknowledge the demands of Madeshis. and other groups based in the Terai risks further flare-ups which have the potential to undermine the prospects for elections to the Constituent Assembly.

Recruitment Agencies

Grant Shapps: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs how much her Department paid to recruitment agencies for the hire of temporary staff in each year since 1997; and if she will make a statement.

Geoff Hoon: The Foreign and Commonwealth Office (FCO) does not have a central record of the numbers of staff under contract from agencies. The annual financial accounts have provided the cost of agency staff since 1997. The reason for the increase was a recruitment freeze during 2004. The FCO started to recruit permanent staff again during 2005-06, filling gaps caused by security clearance delays with temporary agency staff. There will be a reduction to agency staff during 2007. Agencies have been selected subject to the availability of suitably security cleared staff, the performance of staff and negotiated rates.
	
		
			   £ 
			 1997-98 445,944 
			 1998-99 804,788 
			 1999-00 971,657 
			 2000-01 1,255,817 
			 2001-02 1,933,841 
			 2002-03 1,850,779 
			 2003-04 2,357,123 
			 2004-05 1,114,873 
			 2005-06 2,299,111

Somalia

Michael Moore: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what assessment she has made of recent Ethiopian action in Somalia; what discussions she has had with the Ethiopian Government on this issue; and if she will make a statement.

Margaret Beckett: holding answer 23 January 2007
	The Ethiopian action in Somalia has resulted in the Transitional Federal Government gaining control of Mogadishu and most of the rest of south and central Somalia.
	My noble Friend the Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, Lord Triesman of Tottenham, has spoken to Prime Minister Meles of Ethiopia about the recent action in Somalia and officials remain in frequent contact with their Ethiopian counterparts.
	We want Ethiopian troops to withdraw as soon as they can, as Ethiopia has said it wants. We support the early deployment of a stabilisation force, as envisaged by UN Security Council resolution 1725, in order to help avoid a security vacuum and a return to civil war.

Southern Lebanon

Jane Kennedy: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what estimate she has made of the number of unexploded  (a) cluster bombs and  (b) other ordnance remaining in the region of southern Lebanon following the conflict of August 2006.

Kim Howells: As at January 2007, a total of 838 individual cluster bomb strike locations have been identified by the UN Mine Action Co-ordination Centre South Lebanon (UNMACC) from the conflict last year. UNMACC have estimated that there may be up to 1 million unexploded cluster munitions in south Lebanon. The then UN Secretary-General has reported that four de-miners were injured in November 2006 when they stepped on Israeli-manufactured anti-personnel mines in south Lebanon. The Secretary-General noted that the incident took place in an area considered safe prior to the summer 2006 conflict, which raised the possibility that the mines were laid during the conflict. We fully support the Secretary-General's call for any party that laid such mines to provide information as to where they have been laid to prevent similar tragic incidents occurring in the future.

Southern Lebanon

Jane Kennedy: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs how many  (a) children under the age of 16 and  (b) others have been killed in southern Lebanon by unexploded ordnance since the conflict of August 2006.

Kim Howells: According to the UN Mine Action Co-ordination Centre South Lebanon, the statistics for those killed and injured by unexploded ordnance in south Lebanon from 14 August 2006 to 7 January 2007 are as follows:
	
		
			   Injured  Killed  Total 
			  Children (0-12)
			 Male 20 2 22 
			 Female 4 0 4 
			 
			  Youth (13-18)
			 Male 37 4 41 
			 Female 2 0 2 
			  Adult (19+)
			 Male 85 13 98 
			 Female 8 0 8 
			 
			 Total 156 19 175 
		
	
	Of these, eight deaths and 19 injuries were among those conducting the de-mining.

WMD Dossier

Michael Moore: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs pursuant to the answer of 8 January 2007,  Official Report, column 13W, on the WMD dossier, whether the first draft of the Iraqi Weapons of Mass Destruction dossier authored by John Williams makes reference to Iraq's ability to deploy weapons of mass destruction within 45 minutes.

Margaret Beckett: There are no plans for the Foreign and Commonwealth Office to publish Mr. Williams' draft document, extracts from it or to confirm details of the contents.

Departmental Expenditure

Nick Hurd: To ask the Minister of State, Department for Constitutional Affairs how much her Department spent in each of the Government Office regions in the most recent year for which figures are available.

Vera Baird: The following is the net outturn data for 2004-05, which DCA provided to the Treasury as part of the Country and Regional Analysis (CRA), which breaks down net expenditure into the regions recognized by the Office for National Statistics.
	These data are used to compile the tables in Public Expenditure Statistical Analyses (PESA) 2006 published document.
	
		
			  £ million 
			  Region  Amount 
			 Scotland 24.9 
			 Wales 47.0 
			 Northern Ireland 6.3 
			 North East 34.0 
			 North West 100.2 
			 Yorkshire and Humberside 48.3 
			 East Midlands 42.3 
			 West Midlands 52.4 
			 Eastern 42.7 
			 London 139.6 
			 South East 101.3 
			 South West 60.4 
			 Outside UK 0.0 
			 Total 699.2 
		
	
	The aforementioned data represents core spending and does not include agency or NDPB expenditure.
	In keeping with the basis of the CRA analysis, the figures exclude non-cash costs and provisions and are produced on the basis of where the benefit is estimated to be rather then where the expenditure is necessarily incurred.
	Please note that not all expenditure can be apportioned to a region, as the spending benefits the whole country, and not a specific area.

Ambulance Response Times

Mark Durkan: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland 
	(1)  what percentage of emergency ambulance call outs met the emergency response time within the Northern Board area in  (a) 2003-04,  (b) 2004-05 and  (c) 2005-06;
	(2)  what percentage of emergency ambulance call outs met emergency response times within the catchment area of the Mid-Ulster hospital in  (a) 2003-04,  (b) 2004-05 and  (c) 2005-06.

Paul Goggins: Two response targets apply during the relevant periods.
	During the years 2003, 2004 and 2005 the Northern Ireland Ambulance Service was required to achieve a response rate of 50 per cent. of all 999 calls in eight minutes, or, 95 per cent. of all 999 calls in 18 minutes (rural) or 21 minutes (sparsely populated). The response rates for the northern health and social services board (NHSSB) and Mid-Ulster areas during those years, are as follows:
	
		
			2003-04  2004-05  2005-06 
			 Percentage responses within eight minutes NHSSB 45 42 43 
			  Mid-Ulster 41 46 40 
			 Percentage responses within 21 minutes NHSSB 92 91 91 
			  Mid-Ulster 93 92 89 
		
	
	During the 2005-06 year the ambulance service was required to achieve the national target of responding to 75 per cent. of Category A (life threatening) calls within eight minutes. The response rates for the NHSSB and Mid-Ulster areas are as follows:
	
		
			  2005-06 
			   Percentage responses within eight minutes 
			 NHSSB 44 
			 Mid-Ulster 38

Driving at Work

David Kidney: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions 
	(1)  which projects on driving while at work are being prepared by the Health and Safety Executive; and what the timescale for implementation is of each;
	(2)  what discussions he has had with his ministerial colleagues in the Department for Transport on the implementation of projects for promoting safer driving while at work.

Anne McGuire: I will answer these two questions together.
	The former Minister for health and safety, Lord Hunt, and the road safety Minister, Stephen Ladyman, discussed safe driving whilst at work in November 2005 and 2006. Officials of the Health and Safety Executive and the Department for Transport are also in regular contact about measures to promote safer driving whilst at work.
	HSE has a number of initiatives, including a new three-year project with Transport for London and the Metropolitan Police aimed at improving driver safety in freight transport by road and a three year programme of work aimed at moving goods safely in workplaces. HSE also continues to encourage employers to use the guide "Driving at Work", as appropriate.

Health and Safety Inspections

Peter Soulsby: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions how many formal letters of improvement notice issued by the Health and Safety Executive (HSE) to each university have  (a) led to actions satisfying the requirement of the HSE and  (b) remain unresolved in each of the last five years; and if he will make a statement.

Anne McGuire: The Health and Safety Executive has issued 51 improvement notices to universities during the last five years. All have been resolved except one, which has been granted an extension for compliance to 31 January 2007.
	The breakdown by university, by year, is shown in the following table:
	
		
			  Institution  2001  2002  2003  2004  2005  2006  Grand  total 
			 Aston University — — — 1 1 2 4 
			 
			 De Montfort University 1  1 1  1 4 
			 
			 Heriot Watt University — — 1 — — — 1 
			 
			 Loughborough University (Short Course Centre) Ltd — — — 1 — — 1 
			 
			 Manchester Metropolitan University — 1 — 1 — — 2 
			 
			 Nottingham Trent University — — — 1 — — 1 
			 
			 Royal Holloway, University of London — — — — 1 — 1 
			 
			 The Open University — — — 2 — — 2 
			 
			 The University of Leeds — — — 1 — — 1 
			 
			 The University of Manchester — 1 — — — — 1 
			 
			 University of Bath — 2 — — — — 2 
			 
			 University of Birmingham — — — — 1 — 1 
			 
			 University of Bristol 2 — — — — — 2 
			 
			 University of Buckingham — — — 3 — — 3 
			 
			 University of Cambridge 1 — — — — 1 2 
			 
			 University of Central England in Birmingham — — — — — 1 1 
			 
			 University of Central Lancashire — — — 1 — — 1 
			 
			 University of Lancaster — — 1 — 1 — 2 
			 
			 University of Leicester — 1 — — — — 1 
			 
			 University of Lincoln — — 1 — — 2 3 
			 
			 University of Liverpool — 1 1 — — — 2 
			 
			 University of London — 1 — — — — 1 
			 
			 University of Luton — — — — — 3 3 
			 
			 University of Northumbria at Newcastle — — — 1 — — 1 
			 
			 University of Nottingham — — 1 — — — 1 
			 
			 University of Salford — — — 2 — — 2 
			 
			 University of Southampton — — 1 1 — — 2 
			 
			 University of Stirling 1 — — — — — 1 
			 
			 University of the Arts London 1 — — — — — 1 
			 
			 University of Warwick — — — — — 1 1 
			 
			 Grand total 6 7 7 16 4 11 51 
		
	
	HSE inspectors have a range of tools at their disposal to help secure compliance with the law, and to ensure a proportionate response to criminal offences. Inspectors may offer duty holders information, and advice, both face to face and in writing. This may include warning a duty holder that in the opinion of the inspector, they are failing to comply with the law. Where appropriate, inspectors may also serve improvement and prohibition notices, or they may prosecute. The choice of enforcement action is proportionate to the breach.
	Improvement notices are served when in the opinion of the inspector an offence has been committed, but which, in the opinion of the inspector, can be remedied within a given timescale.
	HSE's enforcement policy is normally to prosecute those who fail to comply with an improvement notice. However, there are occasions when it is not appropriate to prosecute and no further action is taken in relation to the notice. This would normally occur where prosecution is not in the public interest (for example, the client has ceased trading or, they have done enough work to essentially comply but there may be a minor deficiency which does not give rise to a health and safety risk). However, it should be noted that HSE will continue to monitor and enforce health and safety standards in these cases.

Incapacity Benefit

Stewart Jackson: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions how many people in each local authority ward in Peterborough constituency received incapacity benefit in each year since its introduction.

Anne McGuire: The available information is in the following table.
	
		
			  Incapacity benefit and severe disablement allowance claimants by local authority ward in Peterborough at the dates shown—by 2003 ward boundaries 
			   May 
			   2006  2005  2004  2003  2002  2001  2000 
			 Barnack 40 40 40 50 35 35 35 
			 Bretton North 485 485 490 490 480 455 420 
			 Bretton South 130 130 130 120 115 110 110 
			 Central 570 595 600 650 630 630 635 
			 Dogsthorpe 600 635 595 605 605 590 565 
			 East 555 565 570 535 560 555 545 
			 Eye and Thorney 190 180 175 175 180 160 165 
			 Fletton 395 385 340 350 350 350 325 
			 Glinton and Wittering 105 105 90 90 105 100 100 
			 Newborough 60 70 75 75 75 70 70 
			 North 355 335 325 315 310 280 275 
			 Northborough 40 40 45 50 40 45 50 
			 Orton Longueville 545 525 520 510 510 475 455 
			 Orton Waterville 245 230 240 260 250 250 240 
			 Orton with Hampton 145 145 130 110 105 110 90 
			 Park 270 260 255 255 275 265 255 
			 Paston 460 470 455 450 455 425 400 
			 Ravensthorpe 425 420 445 430 420 390 395 
			 Stanground Central 405 395 370 370 350 355 335 
			 Stanground East 130 140 135 130 120 120 115 
			 Walton 240 240 225 230 225 220 225 
			 Werrington North 265 270 265 265 275 265 265 
			 Werrington South 165 180 175 170 165 175 165 
			 West 240 230 225 230 240 255 225 
			  Notes: 1. All figures supplied have been rounded to protect the confidentiality of claimants. 2. All data represent a snapshot in time of claimants on the computer system, and will therefore exclude a very small number of cases that are held clerically. 3. Areas have been defined by matching claimants' postcodes recorded on the computer systems to the look-up list provided. Any claimants with missing, partial or incorrect postcodes may be excluded. 4. Ward level data are not available prior to August 1999.  Source: DWP Information Directorate Work and Pensions Longitudinal Study 100 per cent. data

Departmental Staff

Mark Francois: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what the cost of employing agency workers was in  (a) his Department and  (b) its agencies in each of the last three years; and how many were employed in each such year.

Jim Cousins: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer how many employment agencies were employed by his Department and each of the boards and agencies reporting to his Department in each of the last five years; and how much was spent on agency services in each of those years.

Grant Shapps: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer how much his Department paid to recruitment agencies for the hire of temporary staff in each year since 1997; and if he will make a statement.

John Healey: The information on expenditure on agency workers that is available without incurring disproportionate cost is as follows:
	
		
			  Expenditure on agency workers 
			  £000 
			   2001-02  2002-03  2003-04  2004-05  2005-06 
			 HM Treasury (1)— 1,467 1,360 909 864 
			 HM Revenue and Customs (1)— (1)— 3,838 4,567 4,239 
			 Royal Mint (1)— (1)— 0 0 0 
			 National Savings and Investments (1)— (1)— 550 380 450 
			 Office for National Statistics (1)— (1)— 1,607 2,467 1,376 
			 Government Actuary's Department 27 24 17 10 3 
			 Office of Government Commerce 733 851 819 710 1,087 
			 OGC.buying.solutions (1)— (1)— (1)— 158 230 
			 Debt Management Office (1)— 13 20 71 390 
			 Valuation Office Agency (1)— (1)— (1)— 71 312 
			 (1) Information could be provided only at disproportionate cost. 
		
	
	Information on the number of agency workers is generally not recorded centrally and so could be provided only at disproportionate cost. The Royal Mint had one agency worker in 2003-04 (expenditure on this agency worker was £234, but has been rounded to zero in the table) and none in 2005-05 or 2005-06; The Office for National Statistics had 152, 233 and 130 agency workers in 2003-04, 2004-05 and 2005-06 respectively; the Office of Government Commerce had 47 and 49 agency workers in 2004-05 and 2005-06 respectively; and OGC.buying.solutions had 50 agency workers in 2004-05 and 59 in 2005-06.
	Information on the number of agencies used has generally been available within the cost threshold only where a framework contract with a list of approved suppliers is in place.
	
		
			  Number of employment agencies used 
			   2001-02  2002-03  2003-04  2004-05  2005-06 
			 HM Treasury (1)— (1)— (1)— 6 6 
			 HM Revenue and Customs (1)— (1)— (1)— (1)— 15 
			 Royal Mint 2 1 1 0 0 
			 National Savings and Investments (1)— (1)— (1)— 12 14 
			 Government Actuary's Department 3 1 2 2 1 
			 Office of Government Commerce 14 17 17 18 18 
			 Debt Management Office (1)— 2 1 5 8 
			 Valuation Office Agency (1)— (1)— (1)— (1)— 3 
			 (1) Information could be provided only at disproportionate cost.

Youth Unemployment: Peterborough

Stewart Jackson: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what the rate of youth unemployment was in the Peterborough constituency in each year since 2001; and if he will make a statement.

John Healey: The information requested falls within the responsibility of the National Statistician, who has been asked to reply.
	 Letter from Karen Dunnell, dated 25 January 2007:
	As National Statistician, I have been asked to reply to your recent Parliamentary Question asking what the rate of youth unemployment was in the Peterborough constituency in each year since 2001. (110736)
	The Office for National Statistics (ONS) compiles statistics of unemployment for parliamentary constituencies from the annual local area Labour Force Survey (LFS) and the Annual Population Survey (APS) following International Labour Organisation definitions.
	Table 1, attached, shows the numbers of unemployed, aged 16 to 24, resident in the Peterborough constituency, for the 12 months ending in February from 2001 to 2004, from the annual local area LFS and for the 12 months ending in March 2005 and 2006, from the APS. The corresponding unemployment rates are defined as the number of unemployed expressed as a percentage of the economically active population in the relevant age group.
	As these estimates are for a subset of the population in a small geographical area, they are based on very small sample sizes, and are therefore subject to large margins of uncertainty. In this case, the sample sizes are not sufficient to give an accurate estimate of even the direction of the change over the period.
	ONS also compiles statistics for local areas of people claiming Jobseeker's Allowance (JSA). Table 2, attached, shows the annual average number of people aged 18 to 24, resident in the Peterborough constituency, claiming JSA from 2001 to 2006.
	
		
			  Table 1: Unemployed persons, aged 16 to 24 resident in the Peterborough constituency 
			  Thousand 
			  12 months ending:  Level  Rate( 1)  (percentage) 
			 February 2001 1 8.0 
			 February 2002 1 15.5 
			 February 2003 1 10.7 
			 February 2004 1 10.9 
			 March 2005 1 10.9 
			 March 2006 1 14.1 
			 (1) Unemployed as a percentage of the economically active population.  Notes: 1. Estimates are subject to random variability. 2. Changes in the estimates over time should be treated with particular caution.  Source: Annual local area Labour Force Survey; Annual Population survey. 
		
	
	
		
			  Table 2: Annual average number of claimants of jobseeker's allowance aged 18 to 24 resident in the Peterborough constituency 
			   Number 
			 2001 455 
			 2002 435 
			 2003 530 
			 2004 510 
			 2005 585 
			 2006 655 
			  Notes: 1. Claimant count data by age includes computerised claims only. 2. Dataset rounded to the nearest 5.  Source: Jobcentre Plus administrative data.

Agricultural Research Institutions

Michael Meacher: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development which international agricultural research institutions received funding from his Department in each year between 2000-01 and 2005-06; how much funding was provided in each case; and which projects were facilitated by this funding.

Gareth Thomas: The assistance that DFID has provided centrally to international agriculture centres during the period 2000-01-2005-06 is detailed in the following table.
	
		
			  Table of core and project funding received by international agricultural research institutions from DFID between 2000-01 and 2005-06 
			 £ 
			   Type of funding  Financial year 
			  Name of institution/  Name of project  Core  2000-01  2001-02  2002-03  2003-04  2004-05  2005-06 
			  Bioversity International (formerly International Plant Genetic Resources Institute) Core 600,000 650,000 650,000 650,000 910,000 910,000 
			 
			  International Service for National Agricultural Research (now part of IFPRI) Core 160,000 180,000 180,000 430,000 290,000 290,000 
			 
			  International Livestock Research Institute Core 700,000 730,000 630,000 630,000 758,000 720,000 
			 Fodder Initiative Project — — 100,000 420,000 480,000 360,000 
			 Fodder Workshops  — 55,000 — — — — 
			 Livestock Mapping Workshops  33,750 33,750 — — — — 
			 
			  Centre For International Forestry Research Core — — — — 200,000 600,000 
			 NRRD Project Support Project 382,000 395,000 — — — — 
			 Project Support Funding Project — — 363,802 411,198 400,000 — 
			 
			  The International Centre For Agricultural Research In The Dry Areas Pest Core 510,000 560,000 560,000 560,000 780,000 780,000 
			 Integrated Pest Management of Sunn In West Asia Project — 242,660 230,200 231,588 59,762 — 
			 
			  International Crops Research Institute For The Semi Arid Tropics Core 720,000 975,000 750,000 750,000 1,200,000 1,200,000 
			 Conference on Nitrogen Fixation Project — — 10,000 — — — 
			 
			  West Africa Rice Development Association  180,000 230,000 230,000 230,000 425,000 350,000 
			 
			  International Institute Of Tropical Agriculture Core 380,000 410,000 410,000 410,000 570,000 570,000 
			 Weed Management Project — 190,200 240,010 262,540 50,145 — 
			 Overcoming Major Constraints To Conventional Yam breeding Project 85,723 80,038 — — — — 
			 Microbal Control Of Termites Africa Project 88,464 — — — — — 
			 
			  International Water Management Institute. Core — — — — 300,000 600,000 
			 Water And Food Challenge Programme Project — — — — 2,500,000 2,500,000 
			 Small holder water management systems Project 22,855 45,710 58,580 — — — 
			 Strengthening Underutised Crops Project — — — — 68,560 66,110 
			 Water Short Basins In South Africa Project 37,500 — — — — — 
			 
			  World Fish Core — — — — 170,000 440,000 
			 Mekong Project Project — — 59,803 151,409 133,003 — 
			 ICLARM IITA Project Project 162,233 199,126 194,001 194,000 197,001 11,661 
			 Caribbean Marine Protected Areas Project 200,000 100,000 — — — — 
			 Nile Talipia Project Project — 85,450 87,750 86,750 36,000 — 
			 Silver Barb in South East Asia Project 800 28,650 — — — — 
			 Associate Professional Officer for Mekong Project Project — — 15,996 — — — 
			 Women In Fisheries Seminar Project — 10,000 — — — — 
			 
			  International Maize and Wheat Improvement Centre Core 530,000 580,000 800,000 770,000 1,090,000 860,000 
			 Farmers Dialogue Project — — — — — 85,000 
			 Challenge Programme Crop Diversity Project — — — — 2,500,000 2,500,000 
			 
			  Global Forum on Agricultural Research  — — — — — — 
			 Stakeholders Analysis For Effective Partnerships Project — — — — 16,500 — 
			 
			  International Centre for Development Orientated Research In Agriculture Core 117,000 108,300 161,700 140,000 250,000 250,000 
			 
			  International Centre of Tropical Agriculture Core 410,000 225,000 450,000 450,000 720,000 720,000 
			 High Value Products Workshop Project — — — — — 22,200 
			 Soil Water Nutrient Management Project 70,000 99,620 179,200 72,800 — — 
			 Conference On Social Research Project — — 6,500 — — — 
			 Bolivia Initiative Project — — 105,100 107,500 106,300 — 
			 Whtefly Project Project — — — — — 540,904 
			 Research Gender Analysis Project — — — — — 126,039 
			 
			  International Food Policy Research Institute (IFPRI) Core 160,000 190,000 190,000 190,000 310,000 310,000 
			 Public And Private Partnership Project — — — — 59,180 — 
			 Harvest Plus Challenge Programme Project — — — — 500,000 500,000 
			 
			  International Rice Research Institute  760,000 790,000 750,000 750,000 1,120,000 1,120,000 
			 
			  Forum for Agricultural Research In Africa  — — — — — — 
			 Sub-Saharan African Challenge Programme Project — — — — 500,000 140,000 
			 
			 International Potato Centre  400,000 656,128 430,000 430,000 640,000 640,000 
			 Diseases of Potatoes  — — 286,830 272,154 — — 
			 
			  World Vegetable Centre  — — — — 300,000 300,000 
			 Development Of an Pest management Strategy Project 92,935 52,103 60,717 75,695 134,037 79,375 
			 Mungbean In Cereal Fallows in Indo Gangetic Plants Project — — 154,600 145,400 — — 
			 Sustainable Management of Tomato Project 76,439 46,806 — — — — 
			 Improving Food Security In Sub Saharan Africa Project 39,500 19,000 — — — — 
			 Promotion of Mungbean Research Project 28,400 — — — — — 
			79,375 
			  International Network Bamboo Ratten Project  — — — — — — 
			 Phase 1 Project — — 20,000 40,000 20,000 — 
			 Phase 2 Project — — — — — 35,934 
			 
			  International Foundation For Science Core — — — — 75,000 75,000 
			 
			  International Centre For Research In Agroforestry Core 200,000 600,000 
			 Poverty Reduction In Rural Communities Project 391,696 360,867 375,000 400,000 400,000  
			 
			  Commonwealth Agricultural Bureau International  — — — — — — 
			 Partnership Facility Project 75,000 100,000 150,000 200,000 300,000 350,000 
			 Rice Wheat Project — — 62,500 125,000 125,000 30,443 
			 Global Plant Clinic Project — — — — — 250,000 
			 World Bank Assessment Project — — — — — 105,110 
			 
			 Total  7,414,295 8,428,408 8,952,289 9,586,034 18,893,488 19,037,776 
		
	
	
		
			  Name of institution/  Name of project  Type of funding  Period of attributed core funding  Period of unrestricted core funding  Names of projects funded under period of attributed core funding 
			  Bioversity International (formerly International Plant Genetic Resources Institute) Core 2000-04 2004-06 Plant Genetic resource programme in Sub Saharan Africa Promoting Sustainable Conservation And Use of Coconut Genetic Resources Ex Situ Conservation Technologies And Strategies Human And Policy Dimensions Of Genetic Resources Support To Regional Musa Programmes 
			  
			  International Service for National Agricultural Research (now part of IFPRI) Core 2000-04 2004-06 Globalisation And Governance (2003-04 includes £250,000 location costs) Governance Of Agricultural Research 
			  
			  International Livestock Research Institute Core 2000-04 2004-06 Development And Application Of Disease Resistant Livestock Developing and Delivery Of Improved Vaccines And Diagnostics 
			 Fodder Initiative Project
			 Fodder Workshops Project
			 Livestock Mapping Workshops Project
			  
			  Centre For International Forestry Research Core  2004-06  
			 NRRD Project Support Project
			 Project Support Funding Project
			  
			  The International Centre For Agricultural Research In The Dry Areas Pest Core 2000-04 2004-06 Land Management And Soil Conservation Food Legume Germplasm Improvement For Increased Systems Productivity 
			 Integrated Pest Management of Sunn In West Asia Project
			  
			  International Crops Research Institute For The Semi Arid Tropics Core 2000-04 2004-06 Assess The extent of Semi Arid Tropical Land Degradation More Efficient Friendly Crop Management And Pest Control Options Analyse And Conserve Biodiversity to Sustain Crop Activity Partnerships To share Breeding Materials In Farmer -Ready Forms 
			 Conference on Nitrogen Fixation Project
			  
			  West Africa Rice Development Association  2000-04 2004-06 Resource Use Efficiency In Integrated Rice Based Systems Development Of profitable Land And Water Use Systems 
			  
			  International Institute Of Tropical Agriculture Core 2000-04 2004-06 Farming System Diversification Improvement Of Yam Based Systems 
			 Weed Management Project
			 Overcoming Major Constraints To Conventional Yam breeding Project
			 Microbal Control Of Termites Africa Project
			  
			  International Water Management Institute. Core  2004-06  
			 Water And Food Challenge Programme Project
			 Small holder water management systems Project
			 Strengthening Underutised Crops Project
			 Water Short Basins In South Africa Project
			  
			  World Fish Core 2000-04 2004-06  
			 Mekong Project Project
			 ICLARM IITA Project Project
			 Caribbean Marine Protected Areas Project
			 Nile Talipia Project Project
			 Silver Barb in South East Asia Project
			 Associate Professional Officer for Mekong Project Project
			 Women In Fisheries Seminar Project
			  
			  International Maize and Wheat Improvement Centre Core 2000-04 2004-06 Increasing The Yield Stability Of Mid Altitude Maize Germplasm Developing sustainable Maize Based Cropping Systems For The Poor Developing Maize Based Cropping Systems For Drought Prone Areas 
			 Farmers Dialogue Project
			 Challenge Programme Crop Diversity Project
			  
			  Global Forum on Agricultural Research 
			 Stakeholders Analysis For Effective Partnerships Project
			  
			  International Centre for Development Orientated Research In Agriculture Core 2000-04 2004-06 Operationalisation Of ICRA's Strategy Individual Fellowships For Regular Core Learning Programmes 
			  
			  International Centre of Tropical Agriculture Core 2000-04 2004-06 Bean Improvement For Sustainable Productivity Rural Agro -Enterprise Development 
			 High Value Products Workshop Project
			 Soil Water Nutrient Management Project
			 Conference On Social Research Project
			 Bolivia Initiative Project
			 Whtefly Project Project
			 Research Gender Analysis Project
			  
			  International Food Policy Research Institute (IFPRI) Core 2000-04 2004-06 Property Rights And Collective Action In Natural Resource Management Targeted Interventions To Reduce And Prevent Poverty Sustainable Development Of Less Favoured Lands 
			 Public And Private Partnership Project
			 Harvest Plus Challenge Programme Project
			  
			  International Rice Research Institute  2000-04 2004-06 Characterising And Analysing Asian Rainfed Rice Environments Managing Crop Soil And Water Resources For Enhanced Productivity Improved Productivity Of Farming Systems in Upland Rice Areas 
			  
			  Forum for Agricultural Research In Africa 
			 Sub-Saharan African Challenge Programme Project  2004-06  
			  
			 International Potato Centre Project 2000-04 2004-06 Sweet Potato Virus And Vitamin Enhancement Late Blight 
			 Diseases of Potatoes Project
			  
			  World Vegetable Centre  2000-04 2004-06  
			 Development Of an Pest management Strategy Project
			 Mungbean In Cereal Fallows in Indo Gangetic Plants Project
			 Sustainable Management of Tomato Project
			 Improving Food Security In Sub Saharan Africa Project
			 Promotion of Mungbean Reasearch Project
			  
			  International Network Bamboo Ratten Project 
			 Phase 1 Project
			 Phase 2 Project
			  
			  International Foundation For Science Core  2004-06  
			  
			  International Centre For Research In Agroforestry Core 2000-04 2004-069  
			 Poverty Reduction In Rural Communities Project
			  
			  Commonwealth Agricultural Bureau International 
			 Partnership Facility Project
			 Rice Wheat Project
			 Global Plant Clinic Project
			 World Bank Assessment Project

Strategy for Sustainable Agricultural Research

Michael Meacher: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development what the full title is of each research project agreed under the strategy for sustainable agricultural research announced in March 2006; which institution are carrying out each project; and what the  (a) cost and  (b) deadline for completion is of each project.

Gareth Thomas: The details of projects to date agreed under the strategy for sustainable agricultural research are detailed in the following table.
	
		
			  Details of projects funded under DFID's strategy for research on sustainable agriculture 
			  Title of Project  Organisation  Total cost  (£ million)  Completion date 
			  Research into use projects
			 Research into use Natural Resources International Ltd 37.5 31 March 2011 
			 Public private partnership Global Livestock for Livestock Vaccines Ltd 2.287 31 March 2008 
			  Joint programmes with UK research councils 
			 Sustainable agriculture for international development research call Biotechnology and Biological Sciences Research Council 4.0 24 July 2011 
			  Regional programmes 
			 Interim funding for existing research programme Conference of the agricultural research in West and Central Africa (CORAF) 0.37 31 January 2007 
			 Technical assistance on institutional strengthening Conference of the agricultural research in West and Central Africa (CORAF) 0.736 1 June 2007 
			 Preparation of final operational plan Association for strengthening Agricultural Research in Eastern and Central Africa (ASARECA) 0.128 1 August 2006 
			 Technical assistance Southern Africa Development Community Programme (SADC) 0.039 1 August 2006 
			 Technical assistance to develop the multi-country agricultural productivity programme Southern Africa Development Community Programme (SADC) 0.197 1 December 2006 
			 Andes regional programme International Center of Tropical Agriculture 3.75 31 August 2010 
			  Support to international agricultural centres 
			 Genetic diversity challenge programme International Maize and Wheat Improvement Center 7.5 31 March 2007 
			 Harvest plus challenge agriculture International Food Policy Research Institute 1.5 31 March 2007 
			 Sub-Saharan African challenge programme Forum for Agricultural Research in Africa (FARA) 0.64 1 June 2006 
			 Water and food challenge programme International Water and Management Institute 7.5 31 March 2007 
			 Running costs of consultative group on International Agricultural Research Science Council World Bank 0.2 1 July 2006 
			 International assessment on the role of agricultural science and technology World Bank 0.282 31 March 2007 
			 Fodder project—phase 2 International Livestock Research Institute 1.438 30 September 2009 
			 Underutilised crop research and development in Africa and Asia International Water Management Institute 0.325 31 December 2007 
			 Whitefly project phase III International Center of Tropical Agriculture 1.451 31 March 2008 
			 Strengthen links between consultative group on international Agricultural Research and Civil Society International Center of Tropical Agricultural 0.425 1 May 2008 
			 Core funding International Foundation for Science 0.75 1 March 2009 
			 Policy work on bamboo and rattan phase 2 International Network for Bamboo and Rattan 0.054 1 September 2006 
			 Global plant clinic Commonwealth Agricultural Bureaux International (CABI) 0.75 31 March 2008 
			 Rice wheat project Commonwealth Agricultural Bureaux International (CABI) 0.375 31 March 2006 
			 International assessment on the role of agricultural science and technology payment of authors costs Commonwealth Agricultural Bureaux International (CABI) 0.211 31 December 2008 
		
	
	
		
			  Core funding to international institutions (amounts given are annual allocations for 2006-07) 
			   Annual cost (£ million) Completion date 
			 Core funding Bioiversity International 0.955 31 March 2007 
			 Core funding Center for International Forestry Research 0.63 31 March 2007 
			 Core funding International Center of Tropical Agriculture 0.755 31 March 2007 
			 Core funding International Center for Agricultural Research in the Dry Areas 0.82 31 March 2007 
			 Core funding International Center for Research in Agroforestry 0.63 31 March 2007 
			 Core funding International Crops Research Institute for the Semi-Arid Tropics 1.26 31 March 2007 
			 Core funding International Food Policy Research Institute (IFPRI) 0.5 31 March 2007 
			 Core funding International Institute of Tropical Agriculture 0.63 31 March 2007 
			 Core funding International Livestock Research Institute 0.795 31 March 2007 
			 Core funding International Maize and Wheat Improvement Center 0.9 31 March 2007 
			 Core funding International Potato Center 0.67 31 March 2007 
			 Core funding International Rice Research Institute 1.175 31 March 2007 
			 Core funding International Service for National Agricultural Research (part of IFPRI) 0.305 31 March 2007 
			 Core funding International Water Management Institute 0.63 31 March 2007 
			 Core funding West Africa Rice Development Association 0.5 31 March 2007 
			 Core funding World Fish Center 0.46 31 March 2007 
			 Core funding World Vegetable Center 0.7 31 March 2007 
			 Core funding International Centre for Development Orientated Research in Agriculture 0.25 31 March 2007 
			 Partnership facility Commonwealth Agricultural Bureau International 0.4 31 March 2007 
			  Note: DFID's strategy for research on sustainable agriculture was launched by the Secretary of State in March 2006. The strategy comprises four components: support to international agricultural research institutions; programmes to get existing research into use; support to regional programmes; and, programmes with UK research councils. Details of projects and programmes to date launched under the strategy are detailed together with core funding to organisations.

DNA Database

Edward Vaizey: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what percentage of the population have their details stored on the national DNA database, broken down by region.

Joan Ryan: The following table contains details of the individuals from each police force area, held on the National DNA Database as at 31 October 2006, grouped into ACPO regions. It should be noted that the Database shows which force took a DNA sample from the individual concerned, not which force area the person resides in.
	
		
			  Police force areas by ACPO region  Number of individuals on the database  Number of residents  Percentage of individuals from each police force area whose DNA is held on the NDNAD 
			  South West
			 Devon and Cornwall 76,975 1,601,300 4.81 
			 Avon and Somerset 68,549 1,511,600 4.53 
			 Wiltshire 36,336 610,323 5.95 
			 Dorset 35,346 677,500 5.22 
			 Gloucestershire 31,740 564,559 5.62 
			 Total for South West 248,946 4,965,282 5.01 
			 
			  South East
			 Thames Valley 100,301 1,918,600 5.23 
			 Surrey 42,395 1,080,644 3.92 
			 Sussex 77,828 1,259,130 6.18 
			 Hampshire 101,194 1,797,500 5.63 
			 Kent 101,132 1,599,912 6.32 
			 Total for South East 422,850 7,655,786 5.52 
			 
			  London
			 City of London police 16,717 8,000 208.96 
			 Metropolitan police 578,238 7,200,000 8.03 
			 Total for London 594,955 7,208,000 8.25 
			  Eastern
			 Bedfordshire 32,002 493,800 6.48 
			 Cambridgeshire 36,893 729,800 5.06 
			 Essex 85,791 1,622,403 5.29 
			 Hertfordshire 52,235 1,043,000 5.01 
			 Norfolk 47,036 783,000 6.01 
			 Suffolk 33,152 679,900 4.88 
			 Total for Eastern 287,109 5,351,903 5.36 
			 
			  East Midlands
			 Derbyshire 60,085 986,000 6.09 
			 Leicestershire 47,935 974,000 4.92 
			 Lincolnshire 32,657 634,200 5.15 
			 Northamptonshire 31,461 638,238 4.93 
			 Nottinghamshire 71,937 1,031,687 6.97 
			 Total for East Midlands 244,075 4,264,125 5.72 
			 
			  West Midlands
			 Staffordshire 68,131 1,047,380 6.50 
			 Warwickshire Police 21,396 507,900 4.21 
			 West Mercia 53,799 1,158,476 4.64 
			 West Midlands 205,541 2,648,939 7.76 
			 Total for West Midlands 348,867 5,362,695 6.51 
			 
			  Wales
			 Dyfed-Powys/Haverford West 36,279 476,000 7.62 
			 Gwent 37,694 565,000 6.67 
			 North Wales 42,104 629,000 6.69 
			 South Wales Constabulary 85,952 1,225,900 7.01 
			 Total for Wales 202,029 2,895,900 6.98 
			 
			  North West
			 Cheshire 56,508 983,076 5.75 
			 Cumbria 31,890 487,038 6.55 
			 Greater Manchester police 176,319 2,571,800 6.86 
			 Lancashire 98,199 1,429,450 6.87 
			 Merseyside 89,704 1,409,372 6.36 
			 Total for North West 452,620 6,880,736 6.58 
			 
			  North East
			 Cleveland 36,068 541,000 6.67 
			 Durham 37,474 591,300 6.34 
			 Humberside 59,571 900,000 6.62 
			 Northumbria 118,929 1,438,300 8.27 
			 North Yorkshire 39,228 737,600 5.32 
			 South Yorkshire 83,159 1,291,200 6.44 
			 West Yorkshire 151,337 2,110,100 7.17 
			 Total for North East 525,766 7,609,500 6.91 
			  Note: The number of residents in each police force area is taken from the Police Almanac (2006). The figures from the database are those at 31 October 2006. The number of profiles shown for each force and region relates to the number of people sampled by each force, not the number of those sampled who live in the force area. This explains the figure for the City of London police — the force has a very small resident population and almost all those sampled live elsewhere. Previous statistics on the number of individuals on the Database were calculated on the basis that 11 per cent. of the profiles were replicates, i.e. the number of individuals was 11 per cent. less than the number of profiles. The Database has recently advised that the replication rate is now 13.7 per cent. so the figures have now been calculated on this basis.

Identity Theft

Nick Gibb: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department 
	(1)  what estimate he has made of the number of people subject to identity theft in each year since 2002;
	(2)  how many and what proportion of persons subject to identity theft were  (a) under 18 years of age and  (b) under 12 years of age in each year since 2002.

Joan Ryan: The information sought is not available centrally because there is no single offence of identity theft. However, questions have been incorporated into the British Crime Survey and the results should give us more information about the victims of this type of crime. Due to the economic motive for identity theft, the number of victims under 18 years of age and 12 years of age is likely to be very low.
	In addition, the 250 members of CIFAS, the UK's Fraud Prevention Service for the private sector (mainly financial services companies), recorded 32,737 victims of identity fraud in 2002, 43,094 in 2003, 50,455 in 2004, 56,200 in 2005 and 51,025 for the first three quarters of 2006 (CIFAS estimate that this will rise to 68,000 for the entire year).
	CIFAS also commissioned Perpetual Research and Consultancy International (PRCI) Ltd to conduct a study to access the impact of identity fraud on victims. The report 'Identity Fraud: What about the victim?' included as assessment of all of the 55,548 victims of impersonation recorded on the CIFAS database as at the end of July 2005. Of these, 1 per cent. were under 21 years of age.

Prisons

Nick Herbert: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many prisoners were held at Ford prison in each month since 1 January 2006.

Gerry Sutcliffe: The requested figures are in the following table, which are also available in monthly updated websites (see table 4) at:
	http://www.homeoffice.gov.uk/rds/pdfs07/prisnov06.pdf
	These figures have been drawn from administrative IT systems. Although care is taken when processing and analysing the returns, the detail collected is subject to the inaccuracies inherent in any large-scale recording system, and although shown to the last individual, the figures may not be accurate to that level.
	
		
			  Population of Ford prison (end month figures for 2006) 
			   Total prison establishment 
			 January 464 
			 February 490 
			 March 522 
			 April 517 
			 May 348 
			 June 382 
			 July 394 
			 August 416 
			 September 476 
			 October 482 
			 November 454

Prisons

Keith Vaz: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what measures the Government are taking to maintain accurate records of prisoners within the prison system.

Gerry Sutcliffe: Prison Core Records are currently created by the receiving establishment and managed locally at which ever holding establishment has custody of the prisoner. On release the Prisoner Core Record remains at the releasing establishment. HQ caseworker files prefixed PDP are created on request. They are tracked and stored centrally.
	The first release of C-NOMIS (the replacement prisoner case management system) was very successfully implemented, as planned, in the HM Prison Service designated early adopter, HMP Albany on 10 December 2006. It is now in use as the operational case management system for the prison.
	The implementation process requires regular checking and, if necessary, upgrading of the quality of the data held on Local Inmate Database System (to enable its successful transfer to C-NOMIS). This was achieved very successfully at HMP Albany. Measures to maintain and enhance data quality will be a continuing part of C-NOMIS during its roll out across all prisons and continuing when a live services.

Road Safety

Paul Burstow: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many people were convicted for  (a) drunkenness,  (b) driving after consuming alcohol and  (c) causing death by dangerous driving when under the influence of drink or drugs in each year since 1997 in (i) England, (ii) each region and (iii) each London borough.

Vernon Coaker: Information from the Court Proceedings Database held by the Office for Criminal Justice Reform showing the number of people convicted for  (a) drunkenness,  (b) driving after consuming alcohol and  (c) causing death by careless driving when under the influence of drink or drugs in each year since 1997 broken down by Government office region and London court area, are provided in the tables.
	Data broken down by London court area (or local criminal justice area) are provided as a London borough breakdown is not available. Note that the correct offence description for  (c) is causing death by careless driving when under the influence of drink or drugs, and data for this offence are provided in table C.
	
		
			  Table A: Number of persons found guilty at all courts for drunkenness offences( 1) , by region and London court area, England 1997-2005( 2, 3) 
			   1997  1998  1999  2000  2001  2002  2003  2004  2005 
			  Regions  
			 North East 3,715 4,198 4,178 4,443 4,111 4,128 4,641 4,531 4,843 
			 North West 6,208 6,399 5,736 5,559 5,374 5,511 5,323 3,236 1,862 
			 Yorkshire and Humberside 2,962 2,941 3,098 2,945 2,539 2,442 2,892 1,791 1,388 
			 East Midlands 1,230 1,414 1,295 1,169 1,166 1,248 1,311 1,024 500 
			 West Midlands 2,060 1,945 1,535 1,313 1,208 1,170 1,152 1,260 1,103 
			 East of England 1,770 1,885 1,954 1,847 1,809 1,803 1,727 1,380 1,056 
			 London 1,617 1,715 1,581 1,263 1,556 2,331 2,351 1,217 971 
			 South East 4,054 4,670 4,334 3,988 3,882 3,910 4,147 3,209 1,844 
			 South West 2,191 2,407 2,187 2,130 2,247 2,399 2,348 1,576 1,021 
			 England 25,807 27,574 25,898 24,657 23,892 24,942 25,892 19,224 14,588 
			   
			  London court areas  
			  City of London  
			 Guildhall Justice Rooms 14 21 30 30 28 40 49 47 43 
			 Total City of London 14 21 30 30 28 40 49 47 43 
			   
			  Metropolitan police  
			  Inner London court areas  
			 Bow Street 113 133 148 107 307 852 583 186 76 
			 Camberwell Green/Tower Bridge 35 58 42 47 27 49 74 34 58 
			 Greenwich and Woolwich 45 48 52 40 43 145 114 58 47 
			 Highbury Corner 92 90 116 48 24 42 123 74 50 
			 Horseferry Road 124 147 145 114 223 300 269 190 219 
			 Marylebone 36 29 64 4 2 3 2 2 1 
			 South Western 35 31 35 23 22 26 31 19 16 
			 Thames 26 15 31 39 26 41 43 23 27 
			 West London 281 213 144 173 105 173 170 95 94 
			 Inner London Juvenile Courts — 1 — 1 — — — — — 
			   
			  Other London court areas  
			 Barking and Dagenham 11 8 11 12 13 19 32 9 9 
			 Barnet 17 13 9 22 22 32 36 16 12 
			 Bexley 20 17 24 20 13 27 82 36 6 
			 Brent 88 125 71 54 21 33 47 26 35 
			 Bromley 24 11 16 40 73 83 80 22 15 
			 Croydon 39 71 37 51 103 89 37 33 14 
			 Ealing 42 55 47 32 30 76 42 40 19 
			 Enfield 11 14 7 8 19 7 11 9 11 
			 Haringey 11 32 17 19 19 26 41 24 11 
			 Harrow 15 17 18 11 20 21 21 16 9 
			 Havering 12 24 27 19 65 88 66 37 9 
			 Hillingdon 25 95 34 54 74 86 75 35 37 
			 Hounslow 46 73 76 65 41 46 41 34 32 
			 Kingston-upon-Thames 95 57 35 13 28 23 30 18 17 
			 Merton 162 52 98 49 49 38 68 40 10 
			 Newham 13 40 46 29 31 27 29 22 48 
			 Redbridge 22 18 14 16 9 33 25 10 8 
			 Richmond upon Thames 20 83 73 38 47 36 30 18 15 
			 Sutton 65 43 32 61 63 65 90 35 15 
			 Waltham Forest 12 19 13 7 2 5 10 8 8 
			 Total Metropolitan police 1,537 1,632 1,482 1,216 1,521 2,291 2,302 1,169 928 
			   
			 Total London 1,551 1,653 1,512 1,246 1,549 2,331 2,351 1,216 971 
			 (1) Includes offences of drunkenness and drunkenness with aggravation. (2) These data are provided on the principal offence basis. (3) Every effort is made to ensure that the figures presented are accurate and complete. However, it is important to note that these data have been extracted from large administrative data systems generated by police forces and courts. As a consequence, care should be taken to ensure data collection processes and their inevitable limitations are taken into account when those data are used. 
		
	
	
		
			  Table B: Number of persons found guilty at all courts for offences of driving etc. after consuming alcohol or taking drugs( 1) , by region and London court area, England 1997-2005( 2,3) 
			   1997  1998  1999  2000  2001  2002  2003  2004  2005 
			  Regions  
			 North East 3,985 3,740 3,821 3,976 3,913 4,032 4,177 4,352 4,123 
			 North West 12,051 11,244 10,720 10,455 10,137 10,923 11,327 11,769 11,302 
			 Yorkshire and Humberside 7,755 7,228 7,083 7,010 6,757 7,157 7,555 7,849 7,987 
			 East Midlands 6,660 6,061 6,047 5,571 5,141 5,005 6,138 6,598 6,183 
			 West Midlands 9,871 8,939 8,030 7,858 7,974 8,276 8,566 8,875 8,904 
			 East of England 8,043 7,646 7,343 6,729 7,201 7,800 8,176 8,537 8,123 
			 London 15,205 12,937 11,525 10,959 10,521 12,066 11,613 11,815 11,539 
			 South East 12,661 12,462 12,594 12,094 12,262 13,726 13,039 13,088 12,405 
			 South West 7,563 7,321 7,250 6,819 6,948 7,206 7,697 7,650 7,426 
			 England 83,794 77,578 74,413 71,471 70,854 76,191 78,288 80,533 77,992 
			   
			  London court areas  
			  City of London  
			 Guildhall Justice Rooms 411 281 225 156 147 208 207 148 165 
			 Total City of London 411 281 225 156 147 208 207 145 163 
			   
			  Metropolitan police  
			  Inner London court areas  
			 Bow Street 327 194 111 135 150 209 237 211 180 
			 Camberwell Green/Tower Bridge 1,063 1,092 941 865 819 947 997 1,009 1,038 
			 Greenwich and Woolwich 898 741 631 751 835 826 868 770 758 
			 Highbury Corner 1,287 1,132 632 569 529 574 548 611 595 
			 Horseferry Road 549 439 379 334 348 361 299 310 335 
			 Marylebone 429 373 377 64 14 25 24 35 24 
			 South Western 683 507 422 317 349 421 405 336 315 
			 Thames 417 160 547 573 541 638 592 566 623 
			 West London 384 361 289 517 569 619 590 562 553 
			 Inner London Juvenile Courts 4 — — — — — — — — 
			   
			  Other London court areas  
			 Barking and Dagenham 187 236 243 252 253 358 368 299 286 
			 Barnet 457 398 380 359 353 343 329 357 337 
			 Bexley 273 234 241 217 290 325 249 256 225 
			 Brent 569 518 434 449 445 484 516 429 412 
			 Bromley 430 396 324 339 303 344 368 395 390 
			 Croydon 618 507 463 462 427 470 423 434 442 
			 Ealing 654 485 335 538 496 723 544 577 521 
			 Enfield 410 403 406 341 362 339 293 324 301 
			 Haringey 395 382 307 292 367 419 397 471 445 
			 Harrow 287 228 236 238 226 227 245 289 248 
			 Havering 296 230 245 273 226 285 271 337 306 
			 Hillingdon 400 417 403 371 340 430 435 484 490 
			 Hounslow 483 451 375 349 273 345 283 342 379 
			 Kingston-upon-Thames 264 297 266 293 261 263 233 296 285 
			 Merton 348 235 259 266 241 251 263 304 269 
			 Newham 556 426 371 356 347 438 476 490 600 
			 Redbridge 421 343 330 297 307 298 323 358 311 
			 Richmond upon Thames 271 224 235 283 204 312 283 267 218 
			 Sutton 257 232 225 254 242 246 208 253 200 
			 Waltham Forest 366 281 255 281 259 335 339 291 288 
			 Total Metropolitan police 13,983 11,922 10,662 10,635 10,376 11,855 11,406 11,663 11,374 
			   
			 Total London 14,394 12,203 10,887 10,791 10,523 12.063 11,613 11,808 11,537 
			 (1) Includes the following offences under the Road Traffic Act 1968 ss. 4 (1), 4 (2), 5 (1) (a) (b), 6 (4) and 7 (6). (2) These data are provided on the principal offence basis. (3) Every effort is made to ensure that the figures presented are accurate and complete. However, it is important to note that these data have been extracted from large administrative data systems generated by police forces and courts. As a consequence, care should be taken to ensure data collection processes and their inevitable limitations are taken into account when those data are used. 
		
	
	
		
			  Table C: Number of persons found guilty at all courts for causing death by careless driving while under the influence of drink or drugs under the Road Traffic Act section 3A, by region and London court area, England 1997-2005( 1,2) 
			   1997  1998  1999  2000  2001  2002  2003  2004  2005 
			  Regions  
			 North East 5 2 2 4 1 2 2 2 2 
			 North West 5 13 6 7 4 10 5 6 7 
			 Yorkshire and Humberside 5 3 5 8 4 6 5 7 10 
			 East Midlands 6 7 6 5 7 4 9 12 10 
			 West Midlands 9 7 6 4 7 5 6 6 8 
			 East of England 3 6 2 1 7 11 7 7 5 
			 London 4 8 3 5 4 3 4 8 6 
			 South East 11 10 8 8 8 14 9 7 11 
			 South West 8 4 6 8 6 7 7 6 5 
			 England 56 60 44 50 48 62 54 61 64 
			   
			  London court areas  
			  City of London  
			 Guildhall Rooms — — — — — — — — — 
			 Total City of London — — — — — — — — — 
			   
			  Metropolitan police  
			  Inner London court areas  
			 Bow Street — — — — — — — — — 
			 Camberwell Green/Tower Bridge — — — — — — 1 — — 
			 Greenwich and Woolwich — — 1 — — 1 — — — 
			 Highbury Corner 2 1 — 1 — — — 1 — 
			 Horseferry Road — — — — — — — 1 1 
			 Marylebone — — — — — — — — — 
			 South Western — — — — — — — — — 
			 Thames — — — — — — — 1 — 
			 West London — — — — — — 1 — — 
			 Inner London Juvenile Courts — — — — — — — — — 
			   
			  Other London court areas  
			 Barking and Dagenham — — — — — — — — — 
			 Barnet — 2 — — — — — — 1 
			 Bexley — — — — — — 1 — — 
			 Brent — — — — — — — — — 
			 Bromley — — — 1 — — — — — 
			 Croydon 1 — — — — — — — — 
			 Ealing — — — — — — — 1 — 
			 Enfield — — — — — — — — 1 
			 Haringey — — — — — — — 1 — 
			 Harrow — 1 — — 1 — — — — 
			 Havering — 1 — 1 — 1 — 1 1 
			 Hillingdon — — — — — — — 1 1 
			 Hounslow — 1 — — — — — — 1 
			 Kingston-upon-Thames — — — — — — — — — 
			 Merton — — — — — — — — — 
			 Newham 1 — — — — — — — — 
			 Redbridge — — — 1 2 — — — — 
			 Richmond upon Thames — — — — — — — — — 
			 Sutton — — — — — — — — — 
			 Waltham Forest — 1 — — — — 1 — — 
			 Total Metropolitan police 4 7 1 4 3 2 4 7 6 
			   
			 Total London 4 7 1 4 3 2 4 7 6 
			 (1) These data are provided on the principal offence basis. (2) Every effort is made to ensure that the figures presented are accurate and complete. However, it is important to note that these data have been extracted from large administrative data systems generated by police forces and courts. As a consequence, care should be taken to ensure data collection processes and their inevitable limitations are taken into account when those data are used.

Claim Awards

John Hayes: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what the 10 largest claims awarded against her Department under the Liability to Third Party Scheme are; and what the cause of the complaint was in each case.

Andy Burnham: The information requested is in the following table.
	
		
			  The 10 largest settled liabilities for third parties scheme claims as at 31 December 2006 
			  Cause of the complaint  Damages paid (£) 
			 Tripped over telephone wire 200,000 
			 Pulled bed away from wall and experienced a sharp pain in her lower back 200,000 
			 Stepped back onto a board covering cable duct, board shifted as not secured and leg fell down duct 201,624 
			 Contracted Legionella. Subsequently died 210,000 
			 Injured while closing a vehicle entrance to the ambulance station 212,975 
			 Caught leg on spike protruding from bed 250,000 
			 Scanning numerous maternity patients and suffered repetitive strain injury 250,000 
			 Slipped on wet and soapy floor 258,771 
			 Hit by radiography lead screen 310,000 
			 Swivel chair fell backwards causing fall to the floor 400,000

Claim Awards

John Hayes: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what the 10 largest claims awarded against her Department under the Property Expenses Scheme are; and what the cause of the complaint was in each case.

Andy Burnham: The information requested is in the table.
	
		
			  The 10 largest settled liabilities under the Property Expenses Scheme as at 31 December 2006 
			  Cause of the complaint  Damages paid (£) 
			 Fire possible caused by a patient smoking 358,377 
			 Fire 468,437 
			 Fire in/adjacent to A and E department 480,000 
			 Fire 480,000 
			 Fire—cause unknown 486,341 
			 Refrigerator malfunction leading to ruined blood products 488,279 
			 Fire in main kitchen 525,046 
			 Fire—suspected arson 632,171 
			 Fire in/adjacent to A and E department 1,000,000 
			 Fire possible caused by a patient smoking 1,000,000

Departmental Expenditure

Roger Williams: To ask the Secretary of State for Health 
	(1)  how much her Department spent on  (a) eating disorders,  (b) smoking reduction,  (c) alcohol abuse and  (d) drug abuse in the latest year for which figures are available; and what her Department's targets are for hospital and primary care trust spending in each category;
	(2)  what estimates her Department has made of the net cost to the economy of  (a) eating disorders,  (b) smoking reduction,  (c) alcohol abuse and  (d) drug abuse.

Caroline Flint: No breakdown of the overall spend on eating disorders by the Department has been made, nor has an estimate been made of the economic cost of eating disorders.
	The Department launched a tobacco control media campaign in December 1999 and the approximate spend on this in 2006-07 was £12.25 million. This amount does not include helpline running costs. We also fund the national health service stop smoking services and has allocated £56 million each year for this in 2006-07 and 2007-08, with £10 million of this heavily weighted towards spearhead primary care trusts.
	No estimate of the overall economic cost of smoking has been produced. However, regulatory impact assessments have been made of the impact of smoke free legislation, new pack warnings and the forthcoming rise in age of purchase from 16 to 18. Copies of these reports have been placed in the Library.
	We are spending £1.7 million in 2006-07 on the "Know your Limits" campaign, which seeks to prevent binge drinking. The Home Office is contributing additional funding. In 2006-07, the Department is also spending £1.5 million on the alcohol identification and brief advice trailblazer programme. This research programme into the effectiveness of screening and brief intervention techniques will run over two years and an equal amount of additional funding will be supplied by the Department in 2007-08.
	The Department estimates the net cost of alcohol abuse to be £20 billion per year.
	In 2005-06, we allocated £300 million to the pooled drug treatment budget, and a further £208 million local funding was made available. This money is allocated to drug action teams across the country to use to meet local action plans. The Department has estimated that for every £1 spent on drug treatment, at least £9.50 is saved in crime and health costs.
	We do not set targets for hospital or primary care trust (PCT) spending. Decisions about spending are made by each PCT. It is for PCTs, in conjunction with their strategic health authorities, to plan and develop services according to the needs of their local communities.

Echocardiograms: Portsmouth

Mike Hancock: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what the average waiting time is for echocardiograms to be carried out by the Portsmouth NHS Trust.

Andy Burnham: The information requested is provided in the table.
	
		
			  Diagnostic provider waiting statistics for Portsmouth Hospitals National Health Service Trust month ending 30 November 2006, length of time patients still waiting 
			   Median wait (weeks) 
			 Cardiology—echocardiography 13.6 
			  Source: Monthly diagnostics collection 
		
	
	The trust has an action plan in place to secure additional capacity and reduce waiting times.
	By the end of 2008, no patient will wait more than 18 weeks from general practitioner referral to the start of treatment, including diagnostic tests.

Healthcare Commission

John Hayes: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what the cost was to voluntary healthcare providers of fees payable to the Healthcare Commission in 2005-06.

Andy Burnham: The chairman of the Healthcare Commission has confirmed that the information is not available in the form requested. In the year to 31 March 2006. the commission's income from registration and inspection fees and charges to the independent healthcare sector was £7.384 million. The equivalent figure in the previous year was £4 .676 million.

Hospital Beds

John Hayes: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many permanent hospital beds were available in each of the last five years; and what the average daily number of patients admitted to hospital was in each of those years.

Andy Burnham: Table one shows the average daily number of available beds open overnight, day only beds and residential care beds in England in 2001-02 to 2005-06.
	
		
			  Table one 
			   Beds 
			 2001-02 197,833 
			 2002-03 197,932 
			 2003-04 198,433 
			 2004-05 195,376 
			 2005-06 189,816 
		
	
	Table two shows the average daily number of patients admitted in England in 2001-02 to 2005-06.
	
		
			  Table two 
			  Year  Patients admitted 
			 2001-02 25,138 
			 2002-03 25,554 
			 2003-04 26,202 
			 2004-05 27,108 
			 2005-06 28,252

Hospital Episode Statistics

Andrew Lansley: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many patients were treated on an elective inpatient or daycase basis in each year since 1990-91, as recorded in the hospital episodes statistics database; and how many of these patients were counted for the purposes of collecting official Korner waiting time data in each financial year since 1990-91.

Andy Burnham: The table shows the number of admissions in each year since 1990-91, as recorded in the hospital episodes statistics database, split by ordinary and day case. Unless suspended from the waiting list for medical or social reasons, each patient will have appeared in the month-end Korner statistics for every month-end at which they were waiting for admission.
	
		
			  Count of finished in-year admission episodes from waiting list and booked cases broken down by day cases and ordinary admissions, national health service hospitals, England 1990-91 to 2005-06 
			   Patient Classification 
			   Day Case  Ordinary 
			 1990-91 1,128,482 2,069,642 
			 1991-92 1,362,905 2,205,398 
			 1992-93 1,617,067 2,121,573 
			 1993-94 1,891,373 2,028,213 
			 1994-95 2,210,997 1,991,373 
			 1995-96 2,409,879 1,954,978 
			 1996-97 2,500,403 1,813,165 
			 1997-98 2,631,499 1,743,742 
			 1998-99 2,848,872 1,722,393 
			 1999-2000 2,773,702 1,613,654 
			 2000-01 2,705,370 1,570,080 
			 2001-02 2,591,721 1,512,387 
			 2002-03 2,672,701 1,557,842 
			 2003-04 2,671,407 1,569,844 
			 2004-05 2,652,106 1,512,169 
			 2005-06 2,809,335 1,539,366 
			  Notes: 1. A finished in-year admission is the first period on in-patient care under one consultant within one healthcare provider, excluding admissions beginning before 1 April at the start of the data year. Please note that admissions do not represent the number of in-patients, as a person may have more than one admission within the year. 2. Figures are grossed for coverage.  Source: Hospital Episode Statistics (HES). The Information Centre for health and social care

NHS: Barnet

Andrew Dismore: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many  (a) in-patients and  (b) out-patients were treated at (i) Barnet hospital, (ii) the Royal Free hospital and (iii) the Northwick Park hospital in (A) 1996-97 and (B) 2005-06; how many have been treated at each hospital in 2006-07; and if she will make a statement.

Andy Burnham: This information is not held in the format requested. However, the tables show provider based out-patient activity for 1996-97, 2005-06 and 2006-07 for North Central and North West national health service trusts.
	
		
			  Table 2: Provider based out-patient activity for 1996-97 
			  Organisation code  Organisation name  First attendances seen  Subsequent attendances seen  Total attendances 
			 RG9 Chase Farm Hospitals NHS trust 44,066 97,241 141,307 
			 RDC Wellhouse NHS Trust 59,062 153,610 212,672 
			  Total combined 103,128 250,851 353,979 
			  
			 RFZ Northwick Park and St. Mark's NHS trust 52,525 125,853 178,378 
			 RAU Central Middlesex NHS trust 45,953 115,131 161,084 
			  Total combined 98,478 240,984 339,462 
			  
			 RAL Royal Free Hampstead NHS trust 84,302 195,346 279,648 
			  Notes:  Chase Farm NHS trust and Wellhouse NHS trust merged to become Barnet and Chase Farm NHS trust in April 1999.  Northwick Park and Central Middlesex merged to become North West London NHS trust in April 1999.  Source:  KH09 
		
	
	
		
			  Table 2: Provider based out-patient activity for 2005-06 
			  Quarter  Organisation code  Organisation name  First attendances seen  Subsequent attendances seen  Total attendances 
			 Q1 RAL Royal Free Hampstead NHS trust 27,945 60,544 88,489 
			 Q2 RAL Royal Free Hampstead NHS trust 26,664 58,122 84,786 
			 Q3 RAL Royal Free Hampstead NHS trust 26,895 58,262 85,157 
			 Q4 RAL Royal Free Hampstead NHS trust 26,040 59,684 85,724 
			 Total RAL Royal Free Hampstead NHS trust 107,544 236,612 344,156 
			 Q1 RV8 North West London Hospitals NHS trust 26,370 56,456 82,826 
			 Q2 RV8 North West London Hospitals NHS trust 26,192 58,355 84,547 
			 Q3 RV8 North West London Hospitals NHS trust 26,639 55,688 82,327 
			 Q4 RV8 North West London Hospitals NHS trust 25,948 58,071 84,019 
			 Total RV9 North West London Hospitals NHS trust 105,149 228,570 333,719 
			 Q1 RVL Barnet and Chase Farm Hospitals NHS trust 22,760 43,920 66,680 
			 Q2 RVL Barnet and Chase Farm Hospitals NHS trust 24,223 46,010 70,233 
			 Q3 RVL Barnet And Chase Farm Hospitals NHS trust 23,817 46,150 69,967 
			 Q4 RVL Barnet and Chase Farm Hospitals NHS trust 24,068 47,693 71,761 
			 Total RVL Barnet and Chase Farm Hospitals NHS trust 94,868 183,773 278,641 
		
	
	
		
			  Table 3: Provider based out-patient activity for 2006-07 
			  Quarter  Organisation code  Organisation name  First attendances  Subsequent attendances  Total attendances 
			 Q1 RAL Royal Free Hampstead NHS trust 27,607 58,264 85,871 
			 Q2 RAL Royal Free Hampstead NHS trust 29,352 67,765 97,117 
			 Q1 RV8 North West London Hospitals NHS trust 20,426 49,907 70,333 
			 Q2 RV8 North West London Hospitals NHS trust 20,516 50,861 71,377 
			 Q1 RVL Barnet and Chase Farm Hospitals NHS trust 22,539 46,160 68,699 
			 Q2 RVL Barnet and Chase Farm Hospitals NHS trust 22,673 45,128 67,801 
			  Source:  Department of Health QMO8/QMOP

NHS Pay

Mark Durkan: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what percentage of health service staff in England have been  (a) notified of their pay band under Agenda for Change and  (b) assimilated into the new pay structures.

Rosie Winterton: From the centrally available data, as at the end of March 2006, 99 per cent. of staff, excluding foundation trusts, had been notified of their pay band under agenda for change and had been assimilated onto the new pay system. Central monitoring was then suspended, except for trusts, excluding Foundation Trusts, where 100 or more staff remain to be assimilated, in these trusts it is estimated that fewer than 400 staff remain to be assimilated.

NHS Work Force

Andrew Lansley: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what the  (a) headcount and  (b) full-time equivalent size of the overall NHS work force was in each year since 1979.

Rosie Winterton: This information is shown in the following tables:
	
		
			  Numbers (headcount) 
			  England  All NHS staff  All NHS doctors  HCHS medical and dental staff( 1)  General medical practitioners( 2)  GP practice staff( 3)  HCHS non medical staff( 4) 
			 1979 n/a 65,442 42,380 23,062 n/a n/a 
			 1980 n/a 66,997 43,323 23,674 37,400 n/a 
			 1981 n/a 68,479 44,120 24,359 39,200 n/a 
			 1982 1,034,750 69,493 44,658 24,835 41,400 923,857 
			 1983 1,046,975 70,807 45,466 24,341 44,200 931,968 
			 1984 1,040,642 71,162 45,374 25,788 46,700 922,780 
			 1985 1,039,952 72,101 45,911 26,190 49,300 918,551 
			 1986 1,031,934 72,731 46,202 26,529 52,100 907,103 
			 1987 1,036,587 73,244 46,221 27,023 52,700 910,643 
			 1988 1,036,852 74,560 47,140 27,420 57,200 905,092 
			 1989 1,050,383 76,101 48,352 27,749 62,200 912,082 
			 1990 1,041,193 77,354 49,831 27,523 73,952 889,887 
			 1991 n/a 78,160 50,273 27,887 77,196 n/a 
			 1992 n/a 79,232 51,047 28,185 80,213 n/a 
			 1993 1,051,427 80,738 52,278 28,460 84,185 886,504 
			 1994 1,038,737 81,319 52,584 28,735 84,211 873,207 
			 1995 1,052,428 84,459 55,590 28,869 97,794 870,175 
			 1996 1,056,501 86,584 57,468 29,116 97,379 872,538 
			 1997 1,058,686 89,619 60,230 29,389 100,047 869,020 
			 1998 1,071,562 91,837 62,140 29,697 100,975 878,750 
			 1999 1,097,376 93,981 63,994 29,987 105,828 897,567 
			 2000 1,117,841 96,319 66,067 30,252 102,270 919,252 
			 2001 1,166,016 99,169 68,484 30,685 104,319 962,528 
			 2002 1,223,824 103,350 72,168 31,182 107,275 1,013,199 
			 2003 1,282,930 108,993 76,400 32,593 110,091 1,063,846 
			 2004 1,331,087 117,036 82,951 34,085 112,254 1,101,797 
			 2005 1,365,388 122,345 87,043 35,302 112,094 1,130,949 
			 n/a = not available (1) Excludes medical hospital practitioners and medical clinical assistants, most of whom are also GPs that work part time in hospitals. (2) Excluding retainers. GP retainers were first collected in 1999 and are omitted for comparability purposes. (3) Practice staff headcount data are rounded to the nearest hundred for 1980 to 1989, figures for 1990 onwards are unrounded. (4) A new system of occupation coding for NHS non-medical staff was introduced in 1995. Figures for 1994 and earlier are not directly comparable with later years. 
		
	
	
		
			  Full time equivalents 
			  England  All NHS staff  All NHS doctors  HCHS medical and dental staff  General medical practictioners( 1)  GP practice staff( 2,3)  HCHS medical staff( 4) 
			 1979 n/a n/a n/a n/a n/a n/a 
			 1980 n/a n/a n/a n/a 19,944 n/a 
			 1981 n/a n/a n/a.. n/a 21,901 n/a 
			 1982 n/a n/a n/a n/a 23,117 782,761 
			 1983 n/a n/a n/a n/a 24,624 787,164 
			 1984 n/a n/a n/a n/a 25,994 776,981 
			 1985 n/a n/a n/a n/a 27,394 769,902 
			 1986 n/a n/a n/a n/a 29,441 758,341 
			 1987 n/a n/a 41,522 n/a 29,320 755,863 
			 1988 n/a n/a 42,836 n/a 33,703 748,644 
			 1989 n/a n/a 44,091 n/a 37,546 751,067 
			 1990 n/a n/a 45,391 n/a 45,333 742,806 
			 1991 n/a 73,662 46,527 27,135 48,731 n/a 
			 1992 n/a 74,522 47,222 27,299 51,020 n/a 
			 1993 852,834 76,124 48,737 27,387 53,952 722,758 
			 1994 839,478 76,840 49,345 27,495 51,833 710,804 
			 1995 842,310 80,064 52,575 27,489 59,254 702,992 
			 1996 848,104 81,783 54,233 27,549 59,318 707,003 
			 1997 846,298 84,758 57,099 27,660 60,579 700,961 
			 1998 855,129 86,594 58,746 27,848 61,332 707,203 
			 1999 873,226 88,371 60,338 28,033 63,087 721,767 
			 2000 892,230 90,248 62,094 28,154 62,583 739,399 
			 2001 930,633 92,495 64,055 28,439 64,998 773,141 
			 2002 977,961 96,999 68,260 28,740 67,107 813,854 
			 2003 1,026,976 102,037 72,260 29,777 69,140 855,799 
			 2004 1,071,203 109,224 78,462 30,762 72,006 889,973 
			 2005 1,103,789 114,251 82,568 31,683 72,990 916,548 
			 n/a = data not available (1) Excluding retainers. GP retainers were first collected in 1999 and are omitted for comparability purposes. (2) Practice staff figures for 1991 to 1994 may not be fully comparable with other data due to under-reporting of fundholding practice staff by FHSAs. (3) Includes estimated data for Buckinghamshire. (4) A new system of occupation coding for NHS non-medical staff was introduced in 1995. Figures for 1994 and earlier are not directly comparable with later years.  Notes: 1. Full time equivalent figures are rounded to the nearest whole number. 2. The first medical and dental figures included are for 1987 as figures before then are not seen as being comparable. GP FTE figures were not calculated before 1990, and the first FTE figure we can locate for GPs are for 1991. 3. All data as at 30 September except GP data as at 1 October 1975-99 and 30 September 2000-05. In both cases (headcount and FTE) the non-medical data which makes up the greatest proportion of the NHS workforce only goes back to 1982. Data for years before this are not seen as sufficiently comparable to include in this time series. Total non-medical figures are also not available for 1991 and 1992 as for these years half the census was paper-based and half electronic, so as we no longer hold the paper returns, our systems only have an incomplete record for these years.  Source: The Information Centre for health and social care general and personal medical services statistics The Information Centre for health and social care medical and dental workforce census The Information Centre for health and social care non-medical workforce census

Nursing

Andrew Rosindell: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many foreign  (a) nurses and  (b) doctors were employed as nurses in the NHS in 2005-06.

Rosie Winterton: The number of doctors employed in the national health service who qualified outside the United Kingdom is shown in the table. Information relating to the country of qualification or origin is not collected centrally for nurses.
	
		
			  All doctors: hospital and community health services (HCHS) medical staff( 1,2)  and general medical practitioners( 3)  by country of primary medical qualification, as at 30 September 2005, England 
			  Number (headcount) 
			   All countries of qualification  Qualified in UK  Qualified outside UK  
			 of which:  Qualified in remainder of European Economic Area  Qualified elsewhere 
			 All doctors(1,2,3) 119,017 79,247 39,770 6,810 32,960 
			 HCHS medical staff(1,2) 83,073 50,721 32,352 5,041 27,311 
			 General medical practitioners(3) 35,944 28,526 7,418 1,769 5,649 
			 (1) Excludes all staff with a dental specialty. Information about country of qualification is derived from the General Medical Council. For staff in dental specialties, with a General Dental Council registration, the country of qualification is unknown. (2) Excludes medical hospital practitioners and medical clinical assistants, most of whom are also GPs working part time in hospitals. (3) All general medical practitioners includes contracted GPs, GMS others, PMS others, GP registrars and GP retainers  Source: The Information Centre for health and social care General and Personal Medical Services Statistics The Information Centre for health and social care Medical and Dental Workforce Census

Residential Care

Paul Burstow: To ask the Secretary of State for Health when the figures for the number of adults placed in residential care out of areas for the year 1 April 2005 to 31 March 2006 will be available.

Ivan Lewis: The Information Centre for health and social care published data on 31 October 2006, which details the number of adults placed in residential care out of area as at 31 March 2006. The publication "Community Care Statistics 2006: Supported Residents (Adults), England" looks at this in chapter 5, and table S10 contains the detailed council table, which is available at:
	www.ic.nhs.uk/pubs/ccs06suppres/sr1_2005-06web_v2.pdf/file
	Copies have been placed in the Library.

Sexual Health

Richard Shepherd: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many girls  (a) under the age of 15 years and  (b) between the ages of 15 and 18 years (i) had abortions, (ii) gave birth and (iii) were diagnosed with sexually transmitted infections in each year between 1999 and 2005.

Caroline Flint: The available information is set out in the following tables.
	Figures are provided on number of conceptions leading to maternities and abortions for girls aged under 15 and 15-18 from 1999 to 2004 (latest year for which figures are available) so that meaningful comparisons can be made on number of abortions and maternities that occur each year by age of woman.
	
		
			  Conceptions leading to maternities and abortions by age, resident in England and Wales, 1999 to 2004 
			   Conceptions total  Conceptions leading to a maternity  Conceptions leading to an abortion 
			  1999
			 Under 15 2,272 959 1,313 
			 15-18 66,383 39,968 26,415 
			 
			  2000
			 Under 15 2,288 951 1,337 
			 15-18 65,241 38,668 26,573 
			 
			  2001
			 Under 15 2,290 908 1,382 
			 15-18 64,446 37,411 27,035 
			 
			  2002
			 Under 15 2,248 868 1,380 
			 15-18 65,613 38,388 27,225 
			 
			  2003
			 Under 15 2,222 804 1,418 
			 15-18 66,550 38,674 27,876 
			 
			  2004
			 Under 15 2,091 777 1,314 
			 15-18 67,480 39,221 28,259 
		
	
	
		
			  Total diagnoses of selected sexually transmitted infections (STIs) in genito-urinary medicine clinics; among females aged under 15 and 15-19, United Kingdom, 1999 to 2005 
			   1999  2000  2001  2002  2003  2004  2005 
			 Females Under 15 447 411 498 533 547 531 576 
			 Females 15-19(1) 25,447 27,965 30,217 32,695 35,495 37,579 38,389 
			 (1) Data are available for age group 15-19 rather than 15-18.  Note: Selected STIs include: infectious syphilis, uncomplicated gonorrhoea, anogenital herpes simplex (first attack), anogenital warts (first attack) and uncomplicated chlamydial infection.  Source: KC60 returns, Health Protection Agency.

Waiting Lists and Times

John Hayes: To ask the Secretary of State for Health if she will list the types of waiting lists recorded by her Department.

Andy Burnham: The Department receives and publishes list size and waiting time information on waits for first consultant out-patient appointments (from GP referral), 15 key diagnostic tests (from the decision to test), and in-patient admissions (from decision to admit).
	Mandatory collection and reporting of referral-to-treatment list sizes and times (the wait for first definitive treatment from the date of initial referral) begins in January 2007. The data will be published as soon as it is of sufficient quality, probably in the spring.
	The national health service also collects and reports waiting time, but not list size, information on cancer services, accident and emergency services, general practitioner and other primary care appointments, and ambulance response times.

Waiting Lists and Times

David Davis: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what the average waiting list times for  (a) patients and  (b) cancer patients of Hull and East Yorkshire hospitals were in each year since 1997.

Andy Burnham: The table shows the median waiting times for inpatients, outpatients and for diagnostic tests in the Hull and East Yorkshire Hospitals National Health Service Trust from 1997. The two further tables show the median waiting times for inpatients and outpatients at the two predecessor trusts that merged to form the Hull and East Yorkshire Hospitals NHS Trust.
	
		
			  Median waiting times for inpatients, outpatients and for diagnostic tests in Hull and East Yorkshire NHS Trust (provider based) 
			Median wait in weeks 
			  End of month  Year  Inpatient  Outpatient  Diagnostic test 
			 March 1997 16.5 4.6 n/a 
			 March 1998 18.3 4.6 n/a 
			 March 1999 17.8 5.3 n/a 
			 March 2000 17.0 6.9 n/a 
			 March 2001 15.0 7.6 n/a 
			 March 2002 16.8 9.1 n/a 
			 March 2003 15.1 8.3 n/a 
			 March 2004 11.6 8.6 n/a 
			 March 2005 10.3 8.9 n/a 
			 March 2006 9.1 7.4 5.1 
			 September 2006 9.0 8.3 4.8 
			 November 2006 8.1 n/a 5.7 
			  Note: Prior to the financial year, 1999-2000 Hull and East Yorkshire Hospitals Trust existed as two separate trusts, Royal Hull Hospitals NHS Trust and East Yorkshire Hospitals NHS Trust. Therefore, the figures given are based on a sum of the figures for these two trusts, the medians for which are provided in the two following tables. Inpatient and diagnostic waiting time based on median wait of those still waiting at end of period Outpatient waiting times based on time waited for those seen during the quarter.  Source: Department of Health, KH07, QM08, Monthly Monitoring and DMO1 
		
	
	
		
			  Median inpatient waits for Royal Hull Hospitals NHS Trust and East Yorkshire Hospitals NHS Trust, provider based 
			   Median (Weeks) 
			  Month end  Royal Hull Hospitals NHS Trust  East Yorkshire Hospitals NHS Trust 
			 March 1997 16.9 15.1 
			 March 1998 18.6 17.6 
			 March 1999 18.0 17.4 
		
	
	
		
			  Median outpatient waits for Royal Hull Hospitals NHS Trust and East Yorkshire Hospitals NHS Trust, provider based 
			   Median (Weeks) 
			  Month end  Royal Hull Hospitals NHS Trust  East Yorkshire Hospitals NHS Trust 
			 March 1997 4.1 5.7 
			 March 1998 4.3 5.3 
			 March 1999 5.2 5.6 
		
	
	Average waiting times for the treatment of cancer patients are not collected centrally. Cancer waiting times standards of a maximum wait of 31 days from diagnosis to first cancer treatment and a maximum wait of 62 days from urgent referral to first cancer treatment were introduced for all cancer patients from December 2005. Data showing performance against these standards for the period July to September 2006 shows that patients at the Hull and East Yorkshire Hospitals NHS Trust achieved 98.4 per cent., and 89.3. per cent, respectively.
	More detailed information and historic statistics for these standards and the cancer two week wait are available at:
	www.performance.doh.gov.uk/cancerwaits.

Waiting Lists and Times

Nigel Waterson: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many people in East Sussex waited for more than six months for GP referral for elective operations in the last period for which figures are available.

Andy Burnham: Robust information on waiting times from referral to treatment will be collected by the national health service for the very first time this month. Publication of the data for admitted patients is likely to be available in the spring and data for the non-admitted patients is likely to be available in the summer. This will help frontline staff to manage patient pathways properly and to track progress towards the 18-week maximum target wait.
	The current waiting time standards include a maximum six-month wait for in-patient treatment from the decision to admit. At the end of November 2006, there were six patients waiting over six months for in-patient admission in East Sussex Downs and Weald Primary Care Trust.